Tessa's Once Upon A Time
by RoniCullen
Summary: Tessa Mills is Regina's daughter and Henry's foster sister. When Emma Swan comes to town, everything changes. Between a horrible curse, mysterious new powers developing inside Tessa and enemies coming out of the woodworks, she's in for a new life of twists and turns…
1. Pilot

**A/N So I probably shouldn't have started another story with all the other ones I fail to update as often as I should, but... Well, I blame my muses. Feel free to blame me. Anyway, I'm a fan of the show Once Upon A Time, so I decided to plop an OC with a sarcastic nature right in there. I hope you guys enjoy this new story and, of course, reviews are always welcome. **

* * *

Tessa was sitting at the kitchen table, drawing a portrait of a border collie with a pencil. Her ear-buds were in, blasting music from her MP.3. Someone grabbed her shoulder. She whirled around, pulling out her ear-buds.

"Jeez, mom, what?" She asked. Regina threw her purse down on the table next to Tessa's sketchbook.

"Where's Henry? He was supposed to meet me for dinner." Tessa frowned and looked around.

"I don't know." Regina turned and hurried upstairs to search for him. Tessa got up and poked her head into the kitchen. After searching the entire bottom floor of the house, she met Regina at the bottom of the stairs.

"He's not here." They said in unison. Regina pulled her cell-phone out from her jacket pocket.

"I'll call Sheriff Graham." She mumbled, quickly dialing. Tessa grabbed her military style jacket and slipped into it.

"I'll go around town, see if anyone's seen him." She grabbed the two leashes from the coat rack by the door before whistling. Instantly, two dogs came galloping downstairs. The bigger dog was a Carpathian Shepherd Dog and the other was a small Border Collie puppy. Tessa swiftly attached the leashes to their collars before the three of them hurried outside. Once on the sidewalk, Tessa picked up her pace to a jog to keep up with Romania, the Carpathian Shepherd Dog.

"Let's go to Granny's, boys."

* * *

When Tessa got to the glass door leading into Granny's Diner, she stopped and kneeled down next to Romania.

"Okay, stay here, boy." He obediently flopped down onto the sidewalk. She dropped his leash and then picked up Sebastian, the puppy that she didn't trust nearly as much. She pushed the door open and the bell above it rang merrily to announce her presence.

"Hey!" Ruby excitedly greeted her, hurrying over as fast as her five inch heels would allow.

"Hey, Rue!" Ruby and Tessa gave each other a hug before Tessa spoke again.

"Tell me you've seen Henry." She pleaded. Ruby raised an eyebrow.

"I'd be lying. Why?" She asked, reaching over to pet Sebastian.

"He's missing."

"Lovely." Ruby's voice was laced with sweet sarcasm. Tessa nodded. She had about the same appreciation for Henry's antics.

"Well, I'm going to go. See you tomorrow." Tessa left the diner. She picked up Romania's leash and put Sebastian back on the ground before they hurried down the sidewalk again.

* * *

As Tessa reached the walkway leading back up to her house, she saw a yellow car stopping on the curb. Henry climbed out of the passenger side. Tessa hurried over to him.

"Where have you been?" She demanded as a blonde woman stepped out of the driver's side.

"I found my _real_ mom!" He told her, pointing at the woman.

"Uh… I'm Emma." She introduced herself, sticking out a hand. She stared at Tessa, taking in the fact that she had a dog the size of a small horse standing beside her.

"Tessa, Henry's sister." She shook Emma's hand as Henry kneeled down to pet Sebastian and Romania. They walked up the walkway.

"Please don't take me back there!" Henry pleaded with Emma.

"I have to! I'm sure your parents are worried sick about you." Emma told her.

"I don't have parents. Just my mom. And she's evil." Henry shot back. Tessa looked over at him.

"Evil. Seriously, Henry?" She demanded. The front door swung open and Regina and Sheriff Graham hurried out.

"Henry? Oh! Henry!" Regina ran over to hug him.

"Are you okay? Where have you been? What happened?" She asked worriedly.

"I found my _real_ mom!" Henry repeated before running into the house.

"You're Henry's birth mother?"

"Hi." Emma said awkwardly.

"Oookay… I'll be inside." Tessa hurried into the house after Henry. She got Romania and Sebastian off their leashes and went up to her bedroom. Her bedroom door was only marked differently than the rest of the doors on the second floor hallway by a large poster of a horse pinned on it. She pushed the door open and Romania and Sebastian got inside before Tessa. She walked in after them, kicking the door shut again behind her. The bedroom wasn't a small room, but it was jam packed with everything she owned. Against the wall by the door were the two large dog beds and then a scratching post for her cat before you reached the door to her closet. Chess, her cat, was lying on Tessa's double bed. On either side of the bed were nightstands. One had all the drawers and shelves taken out to store a mini fridge well within reach of the bed for all her midnight snacks while the other had a lamp on top and stored drawing supplies and that one junk drawer that every room has down below. The rest of the walls were covered in bookcases with a small desk tucked under her window. Tessa stripped off her jacket and threw it onto the end table at the foot of her bed, which had turned into where she threw anything she was too lazy to put away properly.

"Hey, Chess." She greeted the cat as the dogs jumped onto her bed as well, completely ignoring their own beds. Tessa heard her mom talking to Emma downstairs. Out of curiosity, she went back downstairs. She paused at the bottom of the steps.

"When I adopted him, he was only three weeks old. Records were sealed. I was told the birth mother didn't want any contact."

"You were told right." Emma returned.

"And the father?"

"There was one."

"Do I need to be worried about him?"

"Nope. Doesn't even know."

"Do I need to be worried about you, Miss Swan?"

"Absolutely not." Sheriff Graham came downstairs, ruffling Tessa's hair as he passed her. He went into the dining room.

"Madam Mayor, you can relax. Other than being a tired little boy, Henry's fine."

"Thank you, Sheriff." Sheriff Graham walked out the front door, shutting it behind him.

"I'm sorry he dragged you out of your life. I really don't know what's gotten into him." Regina went on.

"Kid's having a rough time. Happens."

"You have to understand, ever since I became mayor, balancing things have been tricky. You have a job, I assume?"

"I keep busy. Yeah."

"Imagine having another one on top of that. That's being a single mom. Tessa's nineteen now, but that doesn't mean I'm still not taking care of her. Am I strict? I suppose. But I do it for their own good. I want Henry and Tessa to excel in their lives. I don't think that makes me evil, do you?"

"I'm sure he's just saying that because of the fairytale thing."

"What fairytale thing?"

"Oh you know, his book. How he thinks everyone is a cartoon character. Like his shrink is Jiminy Cricket." Tessa got up from the bottom step and hurried upstairs again. She went to Henry's room, knocked once and then opened the door. Henry was sitting up in bed, looking oddly proud of himself. That proud smile faded as he saw her.

"What's this book that Emma's talking about?" Tessa asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"I have a book of stories that I read. Kids do that, you know." He told her, narrowing his eyes at her. Tessa narrowed her own right back at him.

"Right… Cause you're totally normal." She said sarcastically. He said nothing. She rolled her eyes.

"Fine. Don't tell me." She turned and started to walk back to her own bedroom, but then stopped and looked back at him.

"Oh, and, f.y.i, you suck." She told him.

"What did I do?" He asked.

"You ran off! I walked around the entire town looking for your sorry butt and now mom's upset because she thinks you hate her!" With that said, Tessa again turned to leave but was stopped by Henry's voice.

"You're in the book too!"

"Excuse me?" She asked, raising an eyebrow and turning back around.

"In the story book, you're there."

"Interesting…" She gave him a weird look and finally left.

* * *

The next day, Tessa woke up to the sounds of Sheriff Graham, Regina and Emma talking in the next room, Henry's room. Tessa quickly put together the snippets of conversation she heard and realized that Henry had run off again. She groaned as she rolled herself out of bed. Doing her morning skip, weave and trip over one of them anyway routine to get past her animals and into her closet, she grabbed some clothes and made her way back to her bed. After she was dressed in a pair of dark jeans, a pair of black high tops and a black tank top with a white crop top with 'KEEP CALM AND LOVE ANIMALS' handwritten on the front over it.

"Mom, I'm going out!" She called as she hurried down the stairs towards the front door.

"If you see Henry, call me!" Regina yelled back.

"Gotcha." She replied. She hurried out the front door and out onto the sidewalk. She started jogging.

* * *

Tessa reached the old wooden playground castle that Henry was sitting in and slowed her pace.

"Hey, baby brother." She greeted him. She climbed up and sat down beside him, dangling her legs over the side.

"Is there a reason you've decided to run off every day now or is this just a psychotic break?" She asked. He didn't answer.

"So you said I was in the magic book, huh?" She changed the subject. He nodded once.

"Who am I? In the book, I mean." She pressed.

"Shouldn't you be at school?" He asked her, narrowing her eyes at her.

"Nineteen now. School is so last year." She told him, grinning widely. He rolled her eyes. She reached over and smacked him lightly upside the head.

"Who am I in the book?" She asked again. He was silent for a minute.

"You're the Evil Queen's daughter." He finally told her. She laughed.

"Am I the Evil Princess?" She asked.

"No! You're Snow White's stepsister."

"So I'm the ugly stepsister? Ouch, hurtful, dude." She told him, frowning.

"You don't believe." He mumbled, looking down at his hands.

"Don't believe what? I believe in animal rights, I believe that you are one crazy kid, I believe that-." She started.

"You don't believe in the book! You don't believe that Regina cursed all the fairytale creatures!" He told her.

"Because that kind of stuff just doesn't happen in real life, Henry!" She told him. A yellow car pulled up in front of them and Emma hopped out, holding up Henry's book.

"You left this in my car!" She called. Tessa jumped to the ground as Emma walked over to them.

"That's my queue to go. Have fun with Mr. Crazy." She told Emma before jogging off again.

* * *

That night, Tessa was just about to get into bed when something out the window caught her eye. She slowly went over to her window, brushing Chess aside so she could lean on her desk to look out. The giant clock on the tower had moved to 8:16.

* * *

**A/N Okay, that was a pretty boring chapter, but I promise that they will get better. **

**On a different note, I'll be hinting at what character she will date. There were three hints in this chapter as to who that character is. Feel free to review and guess who it is. There will be more hints in later chapters as well. And, no, I haven't cheated and made one up. That character will be one from the original show. **

**I hope you guys liked that chapter and that you'll stick around for more. Until then, thanks for reading!**


	2. The Thing You Love Most

**A/N I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. As always, reviews are welcome. **

* * *

As Tessa walked in to the Sheriff's office the next afternoon, she saw Sheriff Graham taking mug-shots of Emma.

"Well, this is a…surprise." Tessa said, giving Emma a confused look. Then she looked over at Sheriff Graham.

"Brought your lunch from Granny's." She added, holding up the paper bag. She set it down on the nearest table.

"Ah, thank you." Graham told her.

"So what's going on and do I even want to know?" Tessa asked.

"I was framed." Emma muttered. Graham motioned towards the separate office behind Tessa.

"The full report is in there if you want to see it." He told her.

"Do I get to mark your mistakes with a red pen?" Tessa asked, flashing him a smile.

"You will no matter what I say." He returned. Before anything else was said, Henry ran into the room, followed by Mary Margaret.

"Henry, what are you doing here?" Tessa asked.

"Mom told me what happened."

"Of course she did…." Emma mumbled bitterly before turning to talk directly to Henry.

"Henry, I don't know what she said-."

"You're a genius!"

"What?" Emma asked, completely lost.

"I know what you were up to. You were gathering intel. For Operation Cobra."

"Operation what now?" Tessa asked.

"I'm a bit lost…" Graham admitted.

"Its need to know, Sheriff, and all you need to know is that Miss Blanchard's gonna bail her out!" Henry told him.

"You are? Why?" Emma asked Mary Margaret.

"I… uh… trust you."

"Well. If you could uncuff me-." Emma put out her hands to Graham. "-I have something to do." Graham uncuffed her and then went to talk to Mary Margaret. Tessa went over and looked at Henry.

"Operation Cobra?" She echoed.

"You don't believe so you don't get to know." He told her.

"I'm truly hurt." She said sarcastically. Emma looked at her, rubbing her wrists.

"How come you're here and you get to look at official police reports?" She asked.

"I'm his little helper elf. I'm interning here while I do my online college classes. Get the lunch, organize the files, correct his grammar and spelling with a little red pen that he might just break in annoyance. Stuff like that." Tessa explained.

"I thought you said you get to shoot guns." Henry said, confused.

"I did. Then I actually got here and he told me I was allowed no where near any weaponry." Tessa explained, obviously disappointed.

"Well, I have to go. Henry, can you get home with Mary Margaret or Tessa or something?" Emma asked, heading for the door. Tessa rolled her eyes.

"Wow, it's like you forget I'm his older sister. Mr. Crazy here be fine. Go do… whatever it is you need to do."

* * *

As Tessa and Henry walked up the walkway towards the Mayor's Office later that day, Henry nudged her with his elbow.

"What?" She asked, annoyed.

"Do you really think I'm crazy?" He asked. She grabbed his arm, pulled him to a stop and looked down at him.

"Henry, I'm your sister. Of course I think you're crazy. Do you think I'm crazy?" She asked.

"You're weird."

"Exactly. You're a kid and kids are crazy, so, yes, I call you crazy. Why are you suddenly bothered by that?" She asked.

"Because now I have to see a shrink and the only reason that mom says doesn't want my real mom here is because she could interfere with all the shrink stuff!"

"Henry, you're not crazy. Okay? I'm gonna call you crazy and probably a lot worse, but I'm just teasing you. You're not crazy." She assured him. He smiled. She nudged his shoulder.

"Come on, we're going to be late meeting with mom." They went into the building and navigated their way through the familiar hallways. Right as they reached Regina's office doorway, Henry and Tessa stopped to see Emma sitting with Regina and heard what she said.

"The poor kid can't even tell the difference between fantasy and reality and it's only getting worse. It's crazy!"

"You think I'm crazy?" Henry asked. Emma whirled around.

"Henry…" He turned and ran. Tessa looked between the two women for a second, then turned around and sprinted after him.

"HENRY! HENRY!" She finally caught up with him at the sidewalk and pulled him to a stop. She spun him around.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"She said she believed me! She said that she would help me break the curse!" Henry cried, pointing towards the building to indicate Emma.

"Oh, sit down!" She told him with a huff. They both sat down on the curb and rested their chins on their knees.

"What's this Operation Cobra thing?"

"We were figuring out which fairytale creature is which towns person." He explained in a mumble.

"Hmm… Who was Sheriff Graham?"

"We… I don't know." He replied.

"Who is Dr. Whale?"

"Don't know."

"Who is Ruby?"

"Don't know."

"Well then you haven't gotten very far, have you?" She asked teasingly. He shrugged. She stood up.

"Come on, kiddo. We're going to be late for you session." He reluctantly got up from the curb and let him lead her towards Archie's office.

* * *

As soon as Tessa walked into the house, Romania and Sebastian met her at the door.

"Hey, boys." She sidestepped away from them and went into the kitchen, where Regina was sitting at the island, going over some paperwork.

"Really, mom?" She demanded, throwing her jacket down to cover the paperwork so that Regina had to look at her.

"I'm not sure what you meant by that." Regina told her.

"You know exactly what I mean! You knew that Henry listening when you were talking to Emma!"

"It's better if she is out of his life."

"You don't know that!" Tessa told her, the words coming out louder than she'd meant.

"I'm his mother-."

"And I'm sister that had to talk to him when he was so upset about what he'd heard!" Tessa shot back.

"_Contessa_-."

"Oh, no, not the full name, my secret weakness!" Tessa cried, both dramatically and sarcastically. She grabbed her jacket and yanked it off the counter, scattering the papers everywhere.

"You're not thinking about Henry, mom… You're thinking about you!" She stomped out of the kitchen, leaving a shocked Regina behind.

* * *

It was after midnight when Regina went to Tessa's door, pushing it open as quietly as she could. Tessa was asleep on her bed, her long black hair strewn around her. Regina leaned against the doorframe and closed her eyes, thinking back to a memory only she had.

* * *

{Enchanted Forest – Past}

_A tired young Regina lied propped up on the bed, watching at the midwife wrapped her new daughter in a warm blanket. Her mother, Cora, entered the room. She intercepted the baby as the midwife started to hand her to Regina. _

_"You have disgraced this family!" Cora growled at Regina, holding the baby well out of her reach. _

_"Please, mother, I-." Regina started to beg. _

_"No! You do not get to speak! You are not married and you refuse to speak of the father… As far as anyone outside this house shall know, this girl is your sister, not your daughter. Consider yourself luck I'm even keeping this child at all!" Cora told her, not even glancing down at the child in her arms as she spoke. _

_"Please… Just let me hold her…" Regina pleaded. Cora didn't relinquish the hard gaze fixed upon Regina, but she did, however, relinquish the baby. Then she strode out of the room. The midwife hurriedly left as well. Regina looked down at her daughter. She had tufts of inky black hair, the same shade as Regina's own while her eyes were sea-green, the same shade as Daniel's. Regina couldn't help but think of her true love, the stable boy, and her daughter's father. If Cora ever knew… She couldn't even bear herself to think of what would happen. She held her daughter close to her. _

_"Contessa… You'll be Contessa." She whispered. It was a long moment before she spoke again. _

_"I'll never let anything hurt you. You'll be alright… I promise." _


	3. Snow Falls

**A/N Sorry for not updating sooner. Because of the lack of updates, I decided to update twice and give you two chapters/episodes today. I hope you guys like this chapter/episode. Please review and tell me what you think. **

* * *

Tessa stood leaning over a filing cabinet, organizing the files inside. Graham poked his head into the room.

"We've got a call. You get to ride along tonight." He announced. She grinned and slammed the drawer shut with an audible _bang_.

"It's my lucky day."

* * *

Inside the hospital, Tessa stood perched on the top of the desk, watching as Graham spoke with Regina and Dr. Whale. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mary Margaret, Henry and Emma come in. She hopped off the desk and hurried over to them, catching Henry as he started to go towards John Doe's room.

"Oh no you don't. Back it up." She pushed him back a couple steps.

"What's going on? Is it John Doe? Is he okay?" Mary Margaret asked.

"He's missing. Take from that what you want." Tessa told her. Regina walked over to them.

"What are you doing here? And you-." Regina looked at Henry. "-I thought you were at the arcade. Now you're lying to me?" She asked.

"What happened to John Doe? Did someone take him?" Mary Margaret asked her.

"We don't know yet. His IV's were ripped out but there's no sure sign of a struggle." Graham explained, coming over to them as well.

"What did you do?" Henry asked Regina accusingly.

"You think I had something to do with this?"

"It is curious that the mayor's here." Emma told her.

"I'm here because I'm his emergency contact." Regina snapped.

"You know him?" Tessa asked.

"I found him. On the side of the road years ago with no ID. I brought him here." Regina explained to her.

"Mayor Mills saved his life." Dr. Whale explained.

"Will he be okay?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Okay? The man's been on feeding tubes for years on constant supervision. He needs to get back here right away or, quite honestly, 'okay' will might be a pipe dream." Dr. Whale told her.

"Well then, let's quit yapping and start searching." Emma told everyone.

"That's what we're doing. Just stay out of this. And since I clearly can't keep you away from my son, I guess I'm just going to have to keep my son away from you. Tessa, will you please take Henry home and stay there for the rest of the night?" Regina asked, turning to her daughter. Tessa nodded once.

"Oookay… Home it is." She took Henry by the shoulders and steered him out of the hospital.

* * *

Tessa sat on the floor in a corner of the living room, repeatedly tossing the ball across the room for Sebastian to fetch. She heard Henry come downstairs. She stopped tossing the ball. As he reached for the doorknob, she cleared her throat loudly to make her presence known. He jumped and looked at her.

"Where ya going?" She asked, tossing the ball for Sebastian again.

"I have to go help find John Doe!" He told her.

"Mom said to stay here." She reminded him.

"I have to help!" He insisted.

"No, you don't." She told him.

"Yes, I do!"

"No, you don't!"

"Yes, I do!" She just stared at him for a minute. Then she stood up and grabbed her jacket from behind the couch.

"Fine. But I'm going with you." She told him. He grinned. She opened the door and they hurried out.

* * *

They half walked and half jogged through the woods to try and catch up with Mary Margaret, Emma and Graham.

"This is not how normal nineteen year old girls spend their nights." Tessa complained, slowly down and scrambling over a fallen tree.

"Yeah, well, normal nineteen year old girls have boyfriends." Henry told her, weaving between trees.

"No one in town is good enough. I like my men fashionable and slightly insane." Henry got to the top of a hill and Tessa paused beside him. Emma, Graham and Mary Margaret were below, talking. Henry hurried down, snapping twigs underneath his feet as he went. The three of them whirled around.

"Henry!" Mary Margaret gasped in surprise. Tessa waved from the top of the hill.

"And me." She reminded them, stumbling down the hill as well.

"Did you find him yet?" Henry asked.

"No, not yet. You shouldn't be here." Emma reminded him.

"I can help. I know where he's going." Henry told them.

"And where's that?" Mary Margaret asked. He turned to her.

"He's looking for you." Everyone started walking again with Graham and Tessa in the lead.

"You're the one who woke him up. You're the last one he saw. He's looking for you." Henry insisted to Mary Margaret.

"Henry, it's not about me. I think he's just lost and confused. He's been in a coma for a long time."

"But he loves you! You need to stop chasing him and let him find you!" Henry told her, stopping so that she had to stop and look at him.

"Kid. You need to go home. I don't know why Tessa let you come-." Emma started to tell him.

"Because I'm irresponsible, a bad sister, have a naturally rebellious attitude and I'm oddly adventurous for the people of Storybrooke." Tessa called from beside Graham.

"Yeah, that covers it." Graham agreed, nodding. Tessa shined her flashlight around and then slapped at Graham's arm, hard.

"Guys!" She walked forward and plucked something off a bush. Everyone hurried over to her to see what she'd found. It was John Doe's hospital bracelet, covered in a red substance.

"Is that…?" Mary Margaret asked. Graham nodded.

"Blood."

* * *

They came out of the woods beside the old Toll Bridge. They spotted John Doe lying in the water. Mary Margaret started repeating 'oh my gosh' under her breath. Graham spoke into his radio.

"I need an ambulance at the old Toll Bridge as soon as possible!" Emma and Tessa ran into the water and started dragging him out. Mary Margaret and Graham joined them and together the four of them picked him up and got him to the shore. Tessa grabbed his wrist to try and find a pulse.

"I… I can't find his pulse…" She sputtered.

"It's going be okay." Emma tried to say.

"Help's coming." Graham assured them.

"Is he okay?" Henry asked from behind them.

"Henry…" Emma whispered.

"Is he going to be okay?" Henry asked again. Tessa scrambled to her feet and grabbed him by the shoulders, pulling him backwards.

"Henry, don't look, okay? Don't look." She whispered urgently.

"Come back to us. Come back to me…" Mary Margaret pleaded as she started CPR. As she put her mouth to his, he jerked awake, coughing up water.

"You saved me…" He whispered.

"She did it! She did it! She woke him up!" Henry cried excitedly. Emma went over to hug him.

"Yeah, kid…. She did." She told him.

"Thank you." John Doe coughed.

"Who are you?" Mary Margaret asked.

"I don't know."

"It's okay… You're gonna be okay…"

* * *

Graham walked Tessa up to the house. Henry, Mary Margaret, Emma and John Doe had all gone back to the hospital.

"I'd change clothes if I were you." He told her. She glanced down at her pants and the bottom of her shirt and jacket, all of which where wet from the river.

"Thanks. I will." She said, nodding distractedly.

"Are you okay?" He asked her. She nodded again.

"Yeah… And I here I thought that filing was exciting." She returned with a weak laugh. He hugged her and she hugged him back.

"I'm going to get inside." She told him as she pulled away. He nodded.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yep." She agreed, nodding again. She waited until he was back to his car before she went inside the house. She went upstairs to her bedroom. She stripped off her clothes and pulled a pair of sweatpants on. She searched a certain drawer of her dresser in her closet before grabbing her wet clothes and going to the laundry room in only her sports bra. She threw her old clothes in the hamper and grabbed the black tank top she had been looking for from her stack of washed, dried and folded clothes. She heard her mom and Henry come into the house as she went back into her bedroom.

"Tessa, are you here?" Regina called.

"Yeah, mom, I'm home!" Tessa called back before shutting her bedroom door behind her. She went to pull on her tank top with a searing pain struck her back. She cried out in pain and dropped to the floor.

"Tessa?" Henry called from the hallway. She didn't answer as she clenched her teeth. The pain faded. She rolled over onto her back, but then flinched and sat up. She felt her back and frowned. She got to her feet and went over to her mirror and looked over her shoulder to see her back. She gasped in shock and then screamed.

"_MOM_!"


	4. The Price of Gold

.

* * *

Tessa sat on the hospital bed, listening as Dr. Whale spoke to Regina just outside the room.

"I honestly have no idea what happened. I've never seen anything like this." He was saying. _Well, that's comforting, _Tessa thought sarcastically.

"Fine. Just… Can she leave?" Regina asked, both sounding and looking flustered.

"Yes. You can take her home." Dr. Whale agreed. Regina looked into the room. Tessa was now preoccupied studying her back in the mirror. A long, pale scar that had not been there before last night ran at an angle from her left hip to her right shoulder.

"Problems in paradise?" Regina turned towards Mr. Gold as he walked over to her. She shot him a look before walking over to him and whispering to him.

"Tessa got that scar in the Enchanted Forest, before the curse! Why did it suddenly appear now?!" She was struggling to keep her voice low, so no one else could hear her.

"You know why." He said simply. Regina gritted her teeth together in anger. _Emma_…

"Mom?" Regina turned towards Tessa as she stuck her head out of the room.

"Can we go home now?" She asked hopefully. She was tired, confused and the pain had taken a toll on her.

"Um… Yes… Let's go." Tessa hurried over to her and Regina brushed past Mr. Gold, pulling Tessa along behind her. Tess glanced at Mr. Gold in confusion right before Regina pulled her around the corner. Mr. Gold waved at her before she was out of sight.

* * *

Tessa was lying in bed, absentmindedly stroking Chess's fur as he lied next to her. Then she got up and went to her mirror to examine her new mysterious scar again. Chess meowed from the bed. She looked back at him.

"Yeah, I know, weird, huh?" Downstairs she heard the door open and shut, then someone running up the stairs. She went to her bedroom door and opened it to see Henry racing Sebastian and Romania up the stairs with only one shoe on. She rolled her eyes and shut the door again. She heard the door open and shut again.

"Henry? Henry! What did I tell you? Do not leave your shoes lying around on the stairs! Someone could get hurt!" Regina yelled up. Henry yelled back some response and then knocked on Tessa's door. She opened it and motioned for him to come in. Romania and Sebastian hurried in after him, successful crowding her bedroom.

"Are you okay?" Henry asked, flopping down on her bed next to Chess. She nodded, rubbing the back of her shoulder.

"Yeah, it's just weird. I don't know what happened." She told him. He sat up with a jerk.

"I know where you got it!" He said.

"Do tell." She told him, raising an eyebrow questioningly. She seriously doubted he knew anything, but she was willing to give him a shot.

"In the book you…. Wait! I can show you." He looked around and then got up and ran out the door. She watched him from her doorway as he ran downstairs, then back up, into his bedroom and then came back out a minute later.

"I'm not sure if that's how I got my scar." Tessa teased halfheartedly.

"No… My book… Come here!" He dragged her back into her bedroom, shutting the door behind them.

"I left my book at the edge of town today!" He whispered urgently. She stared at him.

"What were you doing on the edge of town; I thought you weren't even supposed to leave the house?" She asked.

"Doesn't matter. I need to get it! It's in my backpack and-." He started to explain.

"Okay, okay, I'll go and get it for you, Henry." She promised, reaching to grab her jacket from the table at the foot of her bed.

"Really?" He asked, surprised. It wasn't often that she offered to do anything for him. She nodded.

"Yeah, I need a run to clear my head about all of this anyway. I'll go get and be back by dinner. Tell mom I went to walk to the dogs, okay?" She asked. He nodded in agreement.

"You are the best sister I have ever had!" He told her. She rolled her eyes, slipping into her jacket.

"I'm the only sister that you've ever had, you little moron. Sebastian, Romania, come on, boys."

* * *

It was a mile and a half to the edge of town. Romania was enjoying the run, his tongue sticking out and what could only be a dog's version of a smile. Sebastian wasn't as thrilled, but he was keeping up. Tessa had long since given up actually jogging; now she was just walking at a steady walk. She saw Henry's backpack sitting on a rock, across the road from the WELCOME TO STORYBROOKE sign. She walked over to it and grabbed it. She sat down on the rock to rest for a minute before starting the trek back home. She dug through Henry's backpack and pulled out the book. She balanced it on her knees and started flipping through it. She stopped when she saw her name. The name jumped up at her from the page.

_Contessa_

She snapped out of it when Romania and Sebastian started pulling on their leashes. She got up and started pacing at the town limit while she read the story about her.

_Contessa was the daughter of the Evil Queen who lived in hiding for most of her life. _

Below that opening line, Henry had written something in his small, slanted handwriting. Tessa struggled to make it out.

_Tessa is the real life version of Contessa! _

Tessa looked up from the book. She looked down at the road in front of her. One more step and she would be out of town. Suddenly the irresistible urge to take that one simple step overwhelmed her. She closed the book and stepped forward. At once, a barrage of images filled her brain. One scene hit her like a brick and stuck.

* * *

_She was running. Fear overwhelmed her, made her want to run faster. She sprinted past trees, jumped over logs and scrambled down a hill. She didn't dare glance over her shoulder; she could already hear the footsteps behind her. As she got to the bottom of the hill, she heard someone yelling behind her. She stopped and turned, out of breath. A man dressed in armor threw a spear at her. She whirled around and threw herself to the ground. The spear grazed her, cutting into her skin from her left hip to her right shoulder. Blood quickly covered her shirt, pain making her vision blurry. The last thing she felt was someone dragging her away before everything went dark…_

* * *

Tessa's eyes opened as the scene faded. All she could do was fall to the pavement and close her eyes. In some distance part of her mind, she heard a car stopping. She heard Romania and Sebastian barking like mad. A familiar voice cut through the darkness like a knife.

"TESSA! Contessa! No, no, what happened? Stay with me." Regina pleaded. There was silence for a minute and then Tessa heard her saying something else.

"I need an ambulance! At the edge of town! Yes, yes, hurry, please!" Every sound, everything Tessa could feel, faded away into utter darkness…


	5. That Still Small Voice

.

* * *

Bright lights blazed above Tessa. She drifted in and out of consciousness. Voice floated around her, but she couldn't make out any words. She lost any sense of time. When she finally fought her way back to reality, she saw a bright light above her again. She moaned and turned her head to avoid looking at it. She saw she was in a hospital room. She saw that Regina was talking with Henry just outside the room, within view of the doorway. Regina was kneeling in front of Henry.

"Henry, she'll be fine. Right now I want you to go to your session with Archie. You can come back later, okay?" Henry reluctantly turned and left. Regina stood up, pushing her hand through her hair. Tessa started to move her hand to rub her eyes, but found that she had an IV attached to her wrist. Regina turned around to look into the room and saw that Tessa was awake.

"Tessa! Oh my gosh, are you okay?" Regina ran into the room and stopped at the edge of Tessa's bed worriedly. Tessa nodded slightly, looking around before focusing on Regina again.

"What… What happened?" She asked, rubbing her forehead with the hand that didn't have an IV attached to it. Regina pulled up a chair and sat down before she explained anything.

"You were at the edge of town when I found you. You were on the ground, unconscious. Why don't you explain to me what happened?" Regina asked. Tessa blinked a couple of times. She remembered the strange scene that had unfolded in her head. Was it some kind of memory? It had felt so real…

"I don't know." Tessa admitted. Regina raised a single eyebrow, questioning this. Before anything else could be said, Dr. Whale came into the room. He went over to the other side of Tessa's bed.

"Well, well, well, you are certainly an odd little patient, Miss Mills. The oddest, in fact…" He told her, shaking his head slowly at her. She chuckled slightly and gave him a thumbs up sign.

"I like being original." She told him. Regina gave her daughter a small smile. It was good to see that she still had her sense of humor. Dr. Whale tapped his pen against the metal clipboard he was carrying.

"We want to keep you here for the night for observation, but then you'll be free to go." He explained to Tessa. She nodded calmly. He left the room again, pulling the door shut behind him. Tessa looked over at Regina again.

"Hey, mom… Can you go get my laptop from home?" She asked hopefully. Regina rolled her eyes as she stood up, pushing the chair back against the wall.

"Can't survive without your laptop, can you?" She asked, shaking her head. She gave Tessa a smile and left the room. Tessa pushed herself up into a sitting position. She struggled to keep the scene that she'd gotten when she'd gone out of the town. It was already getting hazy, like a heavy fog was coming in and covering everything. She concentrated on holding onto the scene as she lied back down. Finally, she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

_She was running through the forest. Unlike last time, she was running towards something. She got to the edge of the forest. She was now on a beach, watching a green fog going towards a giant castle. _

_"No, don't this, no…" She whispered desperately, knowing no one could hear her all the way out there. Green fog engulfed her and everything faded away. _

* * *

"No, no, no!" Tessa kept screaming until she finally snapped out of it and woke up fully. Dr. Whale was standing over her, nearly pinning her to the bed. He let her go once she stopped struggling and screaming.

"Your heart rate monitor was going crazy." He explained. She slowly sat up, looking around to familiarize herself with the hospital room again. Then she looked back at him.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"I don't know, but it's been two hours since your mom left."

"She hasn't been back?" Tessa asked, frowning in confusion.

"There was a problem. Some of the old mine shafts starting collapsing. Henry and Dr. Hopper were inside. They have to try and get them out." Dr. Whale explained. She tried to get out of bed, but he held her back.

"I have to go help! I'm fine but I have to get out there. It's Henry!" She cried. He held her down until finally she gave up and stopped struggling. When she did, he let her go again.

"You're fine. You have to stay here." He told her. She reluctantly complied. He left the room as a nurse called him out into the hallway. Tessa pushed her hand through her hair, already going stir crazy in the hospital bed. Mary Margaret peeked into the room.

"Ah! Good, you're awake. Come on, David." She led David Nolan into the room as Tessa looked up.

"Oh, hey. You're the nameless dude I spent half the night chasing after." Tessa greeted him. He laughed dryly.

"That would be me." He agreed, nodding. Tessa stuck out a hand.

"Tessa."

"David." He shook her hand.

"I heard that you were here. I thought I'd come see how you were doing." Mary Margaret explained, leaning in to give her a hug. Tessa returned the hug.

"Thanks. Have you heard anything about the mine collapse?" She asked. Mary Margaret frowned.

"I heard about it. Everyone's still there." She explained.

"Any progress?"

"Not that I know of." Mary Margaret admitted. She hugged Tessa again and then turned to David.

"We should go…"

"Yeah, Kathryn will be waiting…" He agreed, looking down. They walked out of the room, waving to Tessa over their shoulders. Tessa waved back and leaned back against her bed.

* * *

_BANG! BANG!_ Tessa had officially run out of things within reach to throw at the door. It didn't matter. Dr. Whale stepped into the room, an annoyed look on his face. She smiled sweetly at him and he knew at once that she wanted something.

"I don't suppose that you can let me go now?" She asked. He walked over to her.

"Not until tonight."

"Can I annoy you enough to make you change your mind?"

"You're getting close." He admitted. She smiled wider before motioning to the IV in her arm.

"What is this even pumping into me?"

"It's keeping you from getting dehydrated. You were unconscious for almost twenty four hours." Dr. Whale explained.

"So, since I'm awake and annoying, can you take it out of me? It itches." She complained.

"Yes, I can." He agreed. He took her hand to grab the IV.

"So how do you take out an IV? I mean, do you-?" She started to ask. He yanked it out. Blood formed on the top of her hand and she yelped in pain.

"Ow!" She complained as he stuck a band-aid on top of the small wound. She shot him a look.

"Little more of a warning would have been nice." She told him. He ignored her.

"Can I leave _now_?"

"Come back if anything at all happens?" He asked.

"Cross my heart, hope not to die."

"I'll go sign you out." He left the room. She got out of bed and went to her clothes, which had been put on a chair on the other side of the room. She quickly got dressed. As soon as she opened her door, she saw Regina and Henry entering the hospital. She ran over to them. Regina caught her up in a tight hug.

"Is Henry okay?" She asked in a whisper.

"He's fine." Tessa pulled away from Regina to hug Henry. Regina turned to talk to Dr. Whale as he tapped her shoulder. Tessa whispered something in Henry's ear. He smiled widely as the words fully hit him.

"I believe you."

* * *

**A/N Throughout the first season, she'll be slowly getting her memories back of the Enchanted Forest and her past life there. I'll try to keep it interesting and I hope you guys will continue to read and review. Thank you for reading!**


	6. The Shepherd

**A/N I hope you guys like this episode. As always, please review and tell me what you think. **

* * *

Tessa sat on the staircase in Kathryn and David's house. The 'Welcome Home' party for him was in full swing. Kathryn was introducing him to everyone he didn't remember. Henry came over to Tessa and sat down next to her. She looked up form playing with the hem of her light blue dress.

"You know why he doesn't remember? The curse isn't working on him yet." Henry explained in a whisper.

"Okay." She said simply. He stared at her for a minute.

"You said you believed me!" He hissed.

"I do believe you about the curse, Henry. I'm trying to figure some stuff out myself." She explained.

"Like what?"

"Like who I was before the curse. Like-." She started. David came over to them.

"Hey." He greeted them.

"Hey, David." Tessa replied.

"You're really the only people I know here." He explained.

"Well, you can hide with us." Tessa offered.

"Fantastic." He accepted some food off a tray, stabbing it with a toothpick and twirling it.

"Have you ever used a sword?" Henry asked.

"I'm sorry?" David asked. Tessa smacked Henry in the chest, hard. She looked back up at David.

"Active imagination." She explained shortly.

"Um… Do you know if Mary Margaret is coming tonight?" He asked.

"I don't know, but you can ask Emma. She lives with Mary Margaret now." Tessa stood up to see over the hand-rail on the stairs. She pointed Emma out to David.

"There she is."

"Thank you." He made his way through the crowd towards her. Tessa looked over at Henry.

"If moms asks just tell her I went home. I can't stand this party anymore." She hurried out the front door, letting it close behind her.

* * *

Tessa walked into the kitchen of her house. She searched through the cabinets before going over to the fruit bowl. She picked up an apple. She was just raising it to her mouth to bite into it when she frowned and put it back in the bowl before hurrying out of the kitchen again.

* * *

The next day, Tessa went towards the front door.

"Mom, I'm going out!" She called. Regina hurried down the stairs.

"Just… Stay in town. No more wandering out of the town limits." She told her. Tessa nodded.

"Stay in town. Okay. I will." She stepped out the front door onto the porch, pulling the door closed behind her.

"Not." She added under her breath. She hurried off the porch and started jogging towards the edge of town.

* * *

She stood at the very edge of town. She took a deep breath to prepare herself. She pulled out her phone and got into an app. A stopwatch app, to be exact. She started the timer and then stepped out of the town limit. Like last time, a barrage of images hit her, one after another, until finally one stuck with her and formed a scene.

* * *

_Contessa edged her way through the crowd. She saw Snow White and Prince Charming talking and laughing, as every couple should at their wedding. Snow White glanced around and caught Contessa's eye. At once, Contessa looked down, a blush forming on the surface of her face. Snow White hurried over to her. _

_"I know I'm probably not welcome here-." Contessa started. Snow White interrupted her with a bear hug. Contessa was too surprised to hug her back. Snow White pulled back to look at her. _

_"You're my sister, Contessa; of course you're welcome here!" She assured her, smiling widely. Contessa smiled as well. _

_"Step-sister, really, and we both know what my mom's done, so-." She started again. _

_"Oh, stop that!" Show White hugged her and this time, the hug was returned. Prince Charming made his way over to them. _

_"You must be Contessa." _

_"I am…" She mumbled, looking down. Snow White nudged her in the side with her elbow. _

_"This is my Prince Charming." Contessa couldn't help but notice the 'my' put in there. Contessa stuck out her hand. _

_"It's nice to meet you-." Without warning Prince Charming hugged her instead of shaking her hand. _

_"Oh… Hello." Contessa said, laughing slightly. _

_"It's nice to finally meet my new sister in law." He explained. She laughed again. _

_"It's nice to have people who don't hate me because of mother." _

* * *

The memory faded to black. It took a minute for Tessa to wake up from the darkness. When she did, she jerked upright from where she was lying on the pavement. She grabbed her phone and hit the stop button. She looked at the time. 5:01:00. _Over five hours?_ She thought to herself. Well, it was better than the almost twenty-four hour black-out she'd experienced before. It was already dark and getting cold, she quickly stood up and started jogging back towards her house, ignoring the sharp headache the memory had given her.

* * *

When she reached the sidewalk outside her house, she stopped to make sure she didn't actually look like she'd been lying on the street for five hours. She thought about what she was going to tell Regina. _I was out with Ruby. Didn't see the time_, she thought up a lie. It seemed good enough and Regina wasn't going to question that she had gone out to be with Ruby. Suddenly, something caught her eye and she whirled around towards her house. A figure was escaping out of a window on the second floor. He expertly climbed down the porch roof and jumped down to the ground. She ducked behind a tall bush. As he walked past, she punched him in the face. He went to the ground. She was immediately on top of him, trying to pin him down.

"Ow! Ow, what the-?" She recognized the voice, even though she could barely make out his face.

"Graham?" She swiftly got off him so that he could get to his feet again.

"What were you doing?" She asked, frowning.

"I… Uh…" He sputtered and didn't answer. She looked towards the window he'd snuck out, mentally going through her house to decide which window that was. Then she looked back at him and smacked him across the face. At once, she heard the screech of brakes. She didn't look to see who it was until Emma hurried over to them.

"What is going on here?" She asked them. She looked at Graham and then at Tessa, waiting for an explanation.

"He's sleeping with my mother!" Tessa cried, staring at Graham like he'd grown a third eye.

"No…" Graham said slowly, obviously trying to come up with some believable lie.

"Then why were you sneaking out the window? And this better be good!" Tessa told him.

"Because she didn't want Henry to know." Graham admitted.

"You did this with Henry in the house?" Emma demanded.

"He's sleeping. He doesn't know." He explained.

"It doesn't matter!" Tessa cried.

"You can finish my shift. I'm doing working night shifts so you can be _with Regina_." Emma threw the police cruiser keys at him and hurried down the sidewalk. Tessa started to head up the walkway.

"Tessa-." He started. She whirled on him, eyes blazing with anger, even in the dark.

"You… You…. With my mom? I can't believe you!" She huffed. She turned and sprinted into the house. She shut the door behind her, not bothering to be quiet about it. Regina looked down the stairs to see who had come before speaking.

"You were out for a while. Where were you?" She asked. Tessa glared at her.

"You're with Graham?" She demanded.

"How-?" Regina started to ask.

"I caught him sneaking out of your bedroom a moment ago! You know, I consider Ruby to be my best friend. Graham's more than that. He's like my big brother. And you're sleeping with him!" Tessa yelled at him. Henry's bedroom door opened and he came to the top of the stairs, rubbing his eyes.

"What are you yelling about?" He asked. Tessa was too angry to be relieved he hadn't heard _what_ she had been yelling at her mother.

"Nothing, go back to bed." Regina told him. Tessa stomped upstairs, past both of them. She went into her bedroom and slammed the door behind her, shaking the whole house. She threw her jacket and purse to the floor and sat against her door, feeding her anger until she was shaking with it. _She really is the Evil Queen…_


	7. The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter

**.**

* * *

"Tessa! Tessa!" Graham hurried down the sidewalk after her. She turned around as he caught up to her.

"I can smell the alcohol coming off you." She told him.

"Look, about what you know-."

"About you being with my mother? Yeah, what about it?" She snapped.

"I'm sorry you had to find out that way… Or at all." He told her.

"Well, I did. Bye now." She hurried across the street and into Granny's Diner before he could stop her. She walked over to Ruby.

"Best friend emergency." She told her. Ruby grinned.

"One best friend ice cream special coming up!"

* * *

Tessa picked at her ice cream, sitting at the counter, and Ruby stood on the other side of the counter. Tessa had explained the whole dramatic situation.

"You know, I can help you bury the body… as long as it doesn't mess up my boots." Ruby told her. Tessa laughed.

"Thanks. I'll give you a call if I need to take you up on that."

"Good." Ruby walked around the counter to give Tessa a hug.

"And I thought my life with Granny was dramatic." She mumbled. Tessa rested her head on Ruby's shoulder.

"I think we both know I've always had a flair for the dramatics, Rue."

"True…"

* * *

The next day, there was a knock on the door. Tessa was halfway down the stairs when Henry opened it to reveal Sheriff Graham.

"Mom's not here." She told him none too kindly.

"Uh… Actually, I'm here to see Henry… I was hoping you could help me." He said the last part to Henry rather than to Tessa.

"Help you with what?" Henry asked suspiciously.

"It's about your book… Am I in it?"

* * *

Henry, Tessa and Graham sat in Henry's room, looking down at the book in Henry's lap.

"When did your flashes begin?" Henry asked.

"Right after I kissed Emma." He admitted. Tessa smacked him on the arm, hard enough it made her own hand sting.

"You kissed my mom?" Henry asked.

"He's kissed both our moms!" Tessa told him, shooting a death look at Graham.

"What did you see?" Henry asked to change the subject, obviously not wanting to get involved in any of the drama.

"A wolf… I saw that I had a knife and I was with Mary Margaret." He explained.

"Were you about to hurt her?"

"Yes! How did you know?"

"Because Mary Margaret is Snow White. Which makes you the Huntsman."

"So you really think I could be another person?"

"Makes total sense. You were raised by wolves. That's why you keep seeing one. It's your friend, your guide. It's trying to help you."

"I'm remembering because I kissed your mother? H-how is that possible?"

"Well, you two have a special connection. She owes you her life."

"How?"

"Snow White's her mother. And you spared her. If you hadn't, my mom wouldn't have been born."

"W-what happened after I spared Snow White?" Graham asked it hesitantly, like he didn't really want to know the answer.

"The Queen took your heart. She ripped it out. It's kind of her thing. She never wanted you to feel again." Henry explained.

"Let me see your book." Graham took the book from Henry and flipped through the pages. He got to a page with the Evil Queen standing in front of her vault.

"What's that? I saw that too. The wolf was howling at it."

"That's her vault. That's where she put your heart." Henry told him.

"The wolf wants me to find it. Thank you, Henry." He handed back the book and ran out of the room. Tessa got up and ran after him, catching up with him at the front door.

"I'll come with you." She offered.

"No… No… I'll do this. Thank you." He told her sincerely. Out of habit rather than anything else, he hugged her and then ran out of the house.

* * *

Later that night, Tessa poked her head into Henry's room.

"Hey, I'm going to the Sheriff's office, see if Graham got his heart back…" She said, realizing after she'd said the words out loud how weird they were. Henry was still studying his book.

"Okay." He mumbled. She turned and left, grabbing her jacket on her way out the front door.

* * *

As Tessa stepped into the sheriff's office, she saw Emma and Graham together, about to kiss each other.

"Dude, pick a girl." She told him to purposely interrupt them. Graham laughed, stepping away from Emma, who was looking annoyed at the interruption.

"Any luck?" Tessa asked, going over to stand beside him.

"I remember everything." He told her.

"Everything, huh? Well, it's more than I got. Although, if I step out of town I'll get a memory and what feels oddly like a hangover." Tessa told him. He chuckled again and even Emma smiled over at the younger girl. Suddenly Graham's smile turned into a frown. Then he doubled over in pain and fell to the ground. At once, Emma and Tessa ran over to him as he fell unconscious.

"Graham! Graham!" They shouted his name over and over again, shaking him, trying to wake him up. Emma started sobbing as she realized he was dead. Tessa slowly came to the same realization.

"Graham…"


	8. Desperate Souls

**.**

* * *

Tessa hurried down the stairs and tried to slip quickly out the door. Regina came around the corner.

"Wait, wait, come here." Regina ordered. Tessa froze and then, very slowly, turned around to face her.

"What?" Tessa asked, not even closing the door, as she wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

"You've been avoiding me since Graham… since he died. I just want to make sure you're okay." Regina told her. Tessa gritted her teeth. This was the last thing that she wanted to talk about.

"Peachy. Bye." Tessa said instead. She ducked out the door and hurried down the walkway, onto the sidewalk and towards Henry's castle.

* * *

By the time she got there, Henry was leaving, but Emma was still sitting there, dejected. Tessa went over to her.

"Hey." They said to each other in unison. Tessa flopped down next to Emma.

"Why is Henry ducking you?"

"Because he's worried what happened to Graham will happen to me if I make Regina any madder. But it was natural causes that killed Graham." Emma told her. Tessa swallowed hard before answering.

"Yeah, sure." She agreed, trying to make it sound convincing. Emma looked at her suspiciously.

"Don't tell me you believe Henry?" Tessa sighed.

"Yeah, actually, I do." She admitted. Emma stared at her. Tessa sighed again before explaining.

"Whenever I leave the town, I get memories back. From when I wasn't just Tessa. I was _Con_tessa. I was the daughter of the Evil Queen. Emma, I know it sounds crazy, but it's true!"

"I… Tessa, I think that we believe… what we want to believe." Emma chose her words carefully. Too carefully. Tessa just laughed humorlessly and got up.

"Now you think I'm crazy. Lovely. Just what I needed." Before Emma could protest, Tessa was jogging away.

* * *

Tessa knocked lightly on the door to Archie's office. A muffled 'come in' allowed her to open the door. Henry was just gathering his things.

"Okay, let's get you home, kiddo." She told him. He walked past her and out the door, expecting her to follow.

"I'll meet you outside." She told him. He gave her a confused look but nodded and kept walking. Tessa looked at Archie, slipping into the office.

"If I tell you something, will you call me crazy?" She asked.

"I don't call any of my patients crazy." He assured her.

"Great… Now I'm a mental patient." She said with a roll of her eyes. She sat down on the couch across from Archie.

"Is this about Graham? I heard that the two of you were close." Archie said, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.

"It's not about that… I think that I might be remembering something from… a past life." It was Tessa's turn to choose her words carefully.

"Well, it might be just memories from your childhood that are coming back to the surface." Archie suggested. Tessa seriously doubted that. But she smiled anyway.

"Thanks, Archie." She got up and left, not wanting to talk about to someone who wasn't going to believe her. Henry was waiting outside for her.

"You have dinner with mom." She reminded him as they walked walking down the sidewalk.

"Why aren't you coming?"

"I have something else to do." As they round the corner, they saw the Mayor's office, surrounded in fire trucks, and the smell of smoke hit them like a brick wall. Henry ran towards the building and Tessa sprinted after him. She caught him and pulled him to a stop. She looked around and saw Regina sitting on a stretcher, an oxygen mask pressed to her face. Emma was talking to some fire fighters. As she let Henry go, he ran to a fire fighter to ask what had happened. She slowly went over to Regina. Regina looked up and had to do a double take to realize it was Tessa. Tessa sighed and looked at her.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Regina assured her. Tessa looked over her shoulder at Henry and then back at Regina.

"Do you want me to take him home?"

"Please." She went over to Henry, but he ducked under her arm to go talk to Emma. She let him go; knowing Emma would send him back to her sooner rather than later. She looked at the dying flames in the room of the mayor's office. It reminded her of something…

* * *

_The cottage was in flames. Contessa and her grandfather turned and ran into the forest. Within minutes, they had lost each other in the dense trees. Fear overwhelmed her, made her want to run faster. She sprinted past trees, jumped over logs and scrambled down a hill. She didn't dare glance over her shoulder; she could already hear the footsteps behind her. As she got to the bottom of the hill, she heard someone yelling behind her. She stopped and turned, out of breath. A man dressed in armor threw a spear at her. She whirled around and threw herself to the ground. The spear grazed her, cutting into her skin from her left hip to her right shoulder. Blood quickly covered her shirt, pain making her vision blurry. The last thing she felt was someone dragging her away before everything went dark…_

* * *

Someone was shaking her.

"Tessa, Tessa!" She jerked awake and Regina sighed in relief, waving the paramedics away. Tessa sat up and rubbed her right shoulder, where the scar ended.

"What happened?" Regina asked. Tessa pushed herself off the pavement of the parking lot and to her feet. She saw Emma with Henry, who was looking worried. Emma quickly distracted him by starting up a conversation with him. Tessa turned back to Regina.

"Nothing… I, uh, probably just had low blood sugar." Tessa lied. When in doubt, throw something medical in there and hope for the best. Regina gave her a suspicious look, which she had been getting a lot lately.

"I'm going to go home." She added. With that said, Tessa turned and hurried off before Regina could stop her.

* * *

The next day, Tessa was sitting at a booth in Granny's Diner, clicking away on her laptop. Ruby had customers to attend to, but was sneaking Tessa free glasses of coke every once in a while. Emma walked over to her.

"Hey." Emma greeted her to get her attention. Tessa looked up from her Bejeweled game.

"Hey." She returned.

"So the sheriff election is coming up… You're over eighteen and-."

"I'm not voting." Tessa told her.

"At all?"

"Correct. I'm not going to decide who's the best person to replace Graham because no one is. No offense." She added the last part as an afterthought.

"None taken." Emma assured her. She got up and started to leave, but then turned back to her.

"Can you at least wish me luck on the debate?" She asked hopefully. A small smile tugged at Tessa's lips and she gave Emma a thumbs up without saying anything. Emma smiled and walked out of the diner.

* * *

That night, Tessa was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling and hoping to trigger some other memory. Henry ran into her room without warning and jumped onto her bed, knocking into her. She moaned and sat up.

"Ouch. What it is, Henry?" She asked. Henry was grinning ear to ear, not unlike the Cheshire Cat.

"Emma won the election!" He cried.

"Good for Emma." Tessa could tell her lack of enthusiasm wasn't working for Henry, so she plastered a smile on her face and repeated her words whilst forcing more excitement into her voice. He hugged her tightly, still grinning.

"Henry?" She pulled away and looked at him.

"In the book… What happens to me?" She asked. His smile faded and he was in full book-nerd-mode.

"You were born to Regina and-."

"No, no, I mean what happens at the end of the book?" She interrupted him. He smiled slightly.

"You try to stop Regina from doing the curse, but you're too late." He explained. She nodded.

"So… Am I a good guy?"

"Of course!"

"Good…"

"What's the matter?" Henry asked.

"I'm…" She trailed off. Depressed, confused and completely and utterly shocked about all of this were the true words, but she didn't say them.

"Feeling off." She finished.

"Oh." Was all he said.

"Why don't you go celebrate Emma's victory?" She suggested. He nodded and ran out of the room. She flopped back against her pillows. Chess crawled over to her, nudging her with his head.

"Hey, boy." She greeted him, petting his head. She sighed and stared up at the ceiling again, trying once more to trigger more memories.


	9. True North

.

* * *

"TESSA!" Tessa jerked awake as Henry burst into her bedroom. He jumped onto her bed, causing Chess to jump off in annoyance.

"Happy birthday!" Regina added, coming into the room. Tessa smiled slightly as she looked over at her clock. It was noon. At least they had been nice enough to let her sleep in. If it was any other day, Regina was hauling her out of bed if she wasn't up by seven.

"Yeah… I'm twenty. Practically an old woman…" Tessa said with a laugh. Regina shot her a look for that one.

"Twenty is not old." Tessa laughed just at the look on her face, but didn't say anything. She knew that Regina was even younger than her when she gave birth to Tessa. Tessa wasn't about to push the subject.

"Once you get dressed, come on downstairs." Regina told her before walking out of the room again. Tessa kicked the covers off her and went to pick out an outfit from her closet. Henry moved off her bed, but didn't leave the room.

"You know you're actually turning forty-eight." He told her as casually as if commenting on the color of her pajama top.

"Excuse me?" Tessa asked, turning back to look at him in confusion and shock.

"Because everyone's been cursed, not aging, for twenty-eight years. You're forty-eight."

"And you're just being mean by pointing that out. Speaking of out… Get out." She told him. He rolled his eyes and left the room.

* * *

A minute later, Tessa came downstairs dressed in a blue tank top, faded jeans and blue high-tops. She skipped into the kitchen, where Regina was just pulling a birthday cake out of the fridge. Tessa spoke before she could.

"Since it's my birthday, you two have to do what I want, right?" She asked. Both Regina and Henry gave her a suspicious look.

"Within reason…" Regina told her. Tessa rolled her eyes, as if she had actually made either of them do anything horrible on her birthdays.

"Great. Henry, here." She pulled a twenty dollar bill out of her pocket and handed it to him.

"Go buy that comic book you wanted from the store."

"Really?"

"No, I just like handing you money and taking it back. Yes, really. Go." He grinned and ran out of the kitchen. She turned to Regina.

"And you can do whatever it is you normally do." Tessa told her airily, swiping some frosting off the cake with her finger before licking it off.

"I thought we would stay in and celebrate." Regina suggested. Tessa shrugged it off.

"I'm not in the birthday mood today."

"Why not?" Tessa shrugged again.

"Just not."

"Okay… Well, your presents are on the coffee table." Regina told her, grabbing her jacket and purse.

"Thanks." Regina walked out the front door. As soon as the door shut, Tessa was on the move. She hurried upstairs and into her bedroom again. She quickly grabbed her phone, tucking it into her pocket as she ran back downstairs. She ducked out the door and ran for the edge of town.

* * *

As she reached the edge of town, she did what she'd done before: set the stopwatch on her phone and stepped out of the town limits.

* * *

_She was sitting in a dark cell. She wasn't in good shape. The wound that would later turn into a scar on her back was still fresh and painful. She was covered in dirt and dried blood. Her lip was split and she tasted blood in her mouth. Her hands were bound in front of her with rope. She looked around the cell, desperate for a way out. She heard someone approaching the cell. She looked towards the cell door as Cora appeared, flanked by two of her guards. An evil grin spread across Cora's face. _

_"Happy birthday, dear granddaughter…" _

* * *

She woke up to someone shaking her almost frantically. She jerked up and Emma held up her hands to show she wasn't going to hurt her. Tessa looked around. It was dark already, which meant she'd been there for a while. She grabbed her phone and hit the stop button. 4:50:00. _Better than last time_, she mused in her head.

"What the heck?" Emma asked when Tessa didn't explain anything to her. Perhaps 'demanded' was a better word for it. Tessa got to her feet and Emma straightened up as well.

"I… When I do that, I get memories back." Tessa couldn't come up with any believable lie. Emma could call her crazy, but at least she would know the truth. Emma gave her the look that Tessa was expecting, something that silently asked her if she was off her meds.

"Henry's right, Emma! About the curse, about my mom, everything!" Tessa told her.

"I… I don't know what's gotten into you… Look, I was just waiting for a guy to come fix my car and I saw you in the middle of the road like some road-kill!" Emma explained. She motioned towards her car on the side of the road. Tessa noticed two young kids in the backseat.

"Is there some kidnapping going on here I should know about?" She asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly. Emma rolled her eyes.

"I'm supposed to be taking them to Boston… Unless their dad sees them and changes his mind about wanting to take care of them."

"And I'm guessing that their dad is the guy coming to fix your car?"

"Yep."

"Sneaky." Tessa amended with the slightest bit of respect in her eyes. Emma nodded once.

"Thank you. Why don't you get in the car? I can drive you back if this works or maybe he can give you a ride if it doesn't." Emma told her.

"Okay." She went to the car and climbed into the passenger seat. She looked back at the two kids while Emma paced outside the car.

"I'm Tessa." She introduced herself.

"Ava."

"Nicholas." They introduced themselves.

"Nice to meet you." She told them. They nodded grimly and said nothing else, looking down at their feet.

"Why are you two going to Boston?" She asked out of curiosity. No one ever left Storybrooke. Ever.

"They're going to put us in the foster care system… and separate us." Ava explained tearfully. Tessa turned around completely in her seat.

"Well, that is not going to fly with me." She told them. Before they could ask what she was going to do, the truck pulled up behind them. The man that Tessa could only assume was their father stepped out and spoke with Emma.

"Wait here." She told Ava and Nicholas. She got out of the car and walked over to the two of them.

"You're their father?" She asked.

"Those are them?" The man asked, looking past her at the car.

"Those are them."

"And the car? It's fine." He said, looking at Emma. She nodded. _Even sneakier_, Tessa thought to herself.

"I just wanted you to see them, just once. I didn't think I could do it either. I gave up Henry cause I wanted to him to have his best chance. When I saw that he didn't have, I couldn't leave. I was just as scared, more, probably. But once I saw him, once I knew him, I couldn't go back." Emma told him.

"You're taking them? To Boston?"

"I don't have to."

"No… You don't have to." He walked over to the car to talk to them. Tessa turned to Emma.

"Nice work, Blondie."

"Thanks, kiddo."

"I knew today was going to be a good day." Tessa said with a sigh.

"How?"

"It's my birthday. It's a whole day to celebrate my awesomeness! Something good had to come of it." They both laughed at that.

"Well, my birthday gift to you is giving you a ride back home, even though you're dirty and annoying." Emma told her.

"Gift accepted." Tessa told her gratefully, although slightly offended by the 'annoying' part.

"So… When you step out of town, do you really get… 'memories' back." Emma made quotation marks with her fingers when she said the word 'memories'.

"Yeah, I do. I know it sounds crazy-."

"It sounds completely insane."

"Jeez, thanks for letting me finish." Tessa said sarcastically. Emma made a motion with her hand for her to go on.

"I know it sounds crazy, _but_ I do believe Henry." Before Emma could say anything to that, the man walked back over with Ava and Nicholas trailing along behind him.

"I'm going to take them home, if that's alright." Emma smiled widely.

"Go ahead." He opened the door to let them get into his car while Emma led Tessa back over to her own car. As they climbed into the front seats, Emma turned to look at Tessa again.

"By the way, you have dirt on your face."

"Thanks for telling me sooner."

"No problem, birthday girl."

* * *

Tessa quietly went into her house, but it wasn't quiet enough. Regina hurried over to her the second she heard the click of the door shutting.

"Where were you? You were gone all day!"

"I know that I was. I was where I was." Tessa told her, smiling at her own cleverness.

"Are you okay?"

"Peachy."

"Good. Do you want to open your presents now?" Regina asked, motioning towards the living room. Tessa smiled wider.

"Sounds good."


	10. 7:15 AM

**.**

* * *

Regina and Tessa walked down the walkway. Henry was watching a man as he drove off on his motorcycle. Tessa had never seen him before. She had a feeling that wasn't a good thing.

"Henry, who was that?" Regina asked. Henry shrugged and didn't answer. Tessa turned to Regina.

"I'm going to go." She said, gripping the strap of her shoulder bag. Regina nodded to her and took Henry's shoulders to steer him down the sidewalk.

"Okay. Don't stay out too long; it looks like a storm is coming in." Tessa nodded and hurried off.

* * *

Tessa placed the flowers by Graham's headstone. A drizzle of rain was already coming down, signaling the oncoming storm. She pulled up her hood on her sweatshirt and turned to go back home. Something caught her eye and she turned back towards the tomb a couple yards away. She looked around and then hurried over to it. There was something oddly alluring about it that made her want to get inside. She pushed the door open, going in and escaping the rain. She shut the door behind her and looked around. There were some urns on stone shelves on the walls, but the main vocal point of the tomb was a sarcophagus. She walked over to it and brushed aside some of the dust to read the name on the top.

"Henry Mills. Beloved Father." She read aloud. Thunder shook everything and she grabbed onto the sides of the sarcophagus to keep her balance.

"Okay… Home it is." She told herself. As she pushed herself up, the sarcophagus moved slightly. She frowned and then pushed on it again. It slid easily out of the way to reveal a staircase leading down.

"And this is how horror movies start." She whispered. She grabbed her phone from her pocket and turned it on for a light before descending the staircase. She walked into a room below where the walls were covered in drawers. There was artificial light below, so she turned off her phone again, tucking it back into her pocket. She walked to the nearest drawer and pulled it open. Then she screamed. A glowing heart was inside. She slammed the drawer shut again. _Mom…_Was the only thing that Tessa could think. She hurried back up the stairs. She shoved the sarcophagus back into place and sat down on the floor, leaning against the wall. She remembered what the doctor who had preformed the autopsy had said. A heart attack. Of course she had suspected that Regina had had _something_ to do with it. But now she knew. With shaking hands, she pushed herself back up to her feet. She opened the door and saw it was raining even harder now, paired with gale force winds and lightning. She slammed it shut again and went back to sit on the floor. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and checked it. No signal. _Lovely_, she thought sarcastically.

* * *

Minutes ticked by as she waited for the storm to end. Occasionally thunder interrupted the otherwise long silence. Finally, she heard the rain slow as it hit the roof of the tomb. She stood up and went to look out the door. It was barely drizzling now. She slipped out, shutting the door tightly behind her. Then she sprinted for home.

* * *

Regina and Henry were waiting inside the house. Henry was sitting at one end the kitchen table, going over homework, while Regina sat at the other, going over paperwork. Both of them looked up when she walked into the house. She ignored them and hurried upstairs. Once she was safely in her bedroom, she stripped off her damp clothes and got into dry ones. Then she sat down on her bed and started throwing a tennis ball across the room for Sebastian and Romania to continually run and fetch for her. After a couple minutes, Regina came into the bedroom, nearly getting run over by the dogs. She quickly went to sit on the bed next to Tessa to avoid them.

"Did you get caught in the rain during the storm? It was a nasty one, wasn't it?" She asked. Tessa threw the ball again.

"Actually, I waited it out… In granddad's tomb." Tessa hoped to get some kind of reaction out of Regina, but her expression didn't change.

"Oh, good. I don't want you getting sick." Regina tried to stay causal and, to Tessa, who knew Regina the best, it showed. Regina stood up and went to walk out of the bedroom again. Tessa stood up and escorted her into the hallway while she herself stood in the doorway.

"Oh, mom?" Regina turned back around.

"Yes?" Her voice seemed a little strained. Tessa knew that she was getting worn down. It made her want to smile, but she kept her expression as blank as possible.

"I saw what's under the tomb. I know you killed Graham. You have a good day now." With that said, Tessa shut her bedroom door. She turned and leaned against it, a smirking making its way onto her face.

* * *

{Enchanted Forest – Past}

_"You think you can fool me with the heart of a stag?!" Contessa slowly crept downstairs at her mother's yell. She reached her mother's vault just in time to see her rip the heart out of the huntsman. He stumbled back, shocked but not dead. Contessa ran into the room and over to the huntsman. _

_"Mother, what have you done?!" She yelled, letting the huntsman lean on her. Regina held up the glowing heart. _

_"I'm making sure he never feels again!" She growled. She opened a drawer and put the heart inside, closing it again and brushing off her hands, smirking all the while. Contessa could only stare at her. _

_"And now I know that it's no wonder why everyone in the land calls you the Evil Queen… because you truly are the evilest of them all." _

* * *

Tessa woke up in a cold sweat, breathing hard from the memory that had come so unexpectedly. She had to look around her bedroom to remind herself where she was. Once she did, she leaned back against the pillows and stared at the ceiling for a moment before rolling over and crying herself back to sleep.


	11. Fruit of the Poisonous Tree

**.**

* * *

Tessa grabbed a six-pack of regular coke from the fridge in the kitchen before kicking the fridge door shut. She grabbed a box of store-bought cookies from the counter, peanut butter from the cabinet and the half a loaf of bread left by the toaster. As she headed back towards the stairs, Henry burst through the front door. She jumped in surprise.

"My castle was torn down! Mom called it a safety hazard but she just wanted it gone! And my book's gone!" He cried. Then he saw what was in her arms and gave her a suspicious look.

"What are you doing?" He asked. She nodded towards the top of the stairs, readjusting the load in her arms.

"Walk with me." She told him. She didn't speak until they were about halfway up the staircase.

"I am restocking my mini-fridge. I'm running low on food." Henry looked at her strangely again.

"Why are you trying to live out of your bedroom?" She grimaced. He'd caught onto what she'd been doing.

"I'm avoiding mom."

"Why?"

"Because I accused her of murder and apparently that really angers people. Who knew? Okay, bye now." She ducked into her room and shut the door in his face. He pushed it open impatiently and went to sit on her bed as she restocked her mini-fridge.

"What am I going to do about my book?" He asked. She sighed, sitting down on the floor.

"Write down what you remember. You've read the book a thousand times. You should know it by heart by now."

* * *

That night, Tessa went into Granny's Diner. She saw Henry sitting at one of the tables, scribbling something down in a notebook. She went over to Ruby at the counter.

"Could I have a-?" She started to ask.

"A regular coke with two or four ice cubes because you hate odd numbers. Got it. Coming right up." Ruby interrupted. Tessa grinned.

"You know me so well." She walked over to Henry and slid into the seat beside him. She saw he was writing down all the characters from his book. She nudged him.

"You forgot me." She pretended to sound hurt. He rolled his eyes and added the name 'Contessa' to the list. Ruby came over and handed Tessa her coke.

"Thanks, Rue." Ruby nodded and walked away as Granny called her back to the counter. In the booth in front of Tessa and Henry's, a man that Tessa hadn't seen before looked at Henry.

"What'cha working on?" He asked.

"No time to talk. I got to write it all down before I forget."

"Yeah, I hate it when great ideas slip away from me."

"They're not my ideas. They're stories from a book I lost." The man got up and moved to the seat in front of Tessa and Henry.

"Must be one heck of a book. What's it about?"

"Stuff." Henry told him without looking up.

"Sounds exciting." He said sarcastically. Before Henry could reply, Tessa spoke to him.

"I'm Tessa Mills." She introduced herself, sticking a hand across the table. He shook her hand.

"August Booth. Nice to meet you. Any relation to the mayor?"

"I'm her daughter."

"Ah… Well, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"What are you doing in Storybrooke?" Henry asked, looking up and staring at August. Tessa elbowed him.

"Henry!"

"Oh, no, I heard you don't have many visitors here. That question was sure to pop up sooner or later. I'm a writer." August explained.

"You can write anywhere. What are you really doing here?" August leaned in to whisper to the two of them.

"Stuff." He stood up to leave.

"Good luck with the stories."

* * *

Regina walked into Tessa's room, not bothering to knock. Tessa rolled off her bed, landing on her feet with the bed in between them.

"Intruder alert!" She cried. Regina rolled her eyes without humor.

"I know you blame me for Graham's death and… And well, I realize now it's how you're dealing with your grief because you learned about Graham and I being together before all of that happened. Can I take you somewhere with Henry?" Regina asked. Tessa hesitantly grabbed her jacket.

"Suuure…" She stretched out the word. Regina led her out of the room.

* * *

Kids were yelling with excitement as they played on the playground Regina had put up. It was shaped like a castle. Henry was standing off to the side. Regina had left him with Tessa, who was supposed to watch him. She was sitting on the brick wall separating the playground from the road. Henry came over to her, holding a walkie talkie and looking upset. She patted the wall beside her and he sat down, swinging his legs over the side.

"What's the matter, kiddo?"

"Emma said that she can't be around me for a while." He told her, turning the walkie talkie over in his hands.

"Well, I'm sorry. Would a fist bump make you feel better?" She asked, offering up her fist. He gave her a fist bump.

"That was a lazy fist bump." She told him. She sighed and pushed him with her shoulder. He pushed her back.

"It'll be okay, baby brother. Your amazing big sister will take care of it because she is just that awesome." She assured him. He pushed her again, laughing.

"Seriously, though, it'll be alright. Go play in your new and improved castle." She told him. He stood up and ran off. She watched him go and then looked around for something to do. Suddenly a small stick hit the back of her head. She whirled around. Henry grinned at her with the band of children behind him.

"Get her!" She jumped up and ran from the horde of children that were laughing and chasing her.

"This is so not fair!" She screamed as she climbed up the slide to escape. Of course, that didn't stop them from hunting her down and she was laughing too hard to really try to get them to.


	12. Skin Deep

**A/N Very short chapter that has little to do with the actual episode but I hope you enjoy it anyway. **

* * *

Tessa sat at the counter of Granny's Diner, eating a plate of fries while Ruby did her waitressing rounds. She looked up as Emma walked in. Emma waved to her and then sat down next to Mary Margaret.

"So how's you day going?" Emma asked her.

"Henry's fine."

"That's not what I asked you." Tessa rolled her eyes and turned around.

"That's exactly what you asked." She informed her. Emma looked at her hopefully. She grabbed her plate and moved to sit down at their table.

"Henry's fine. He leads a horde of hyper children against me on a daily basis." She assured Emma. Both Mary Margaret and Emma laughed at that. The Diner bell jingled as a blonde woman walked in.

"Hey!" She greeted Emma and Mary Margaret. Mary Margaret smiled.

"Hi, Ashley! Ashley, this is Tessa. Tessa, Ashley." Ashley and Tessa shook hands as Ashley pulled up a chair.

"How's it going?" Emma asked.

"It's uh… I mean, the baby's great. But we really haven't had time to do the whole getting married thing, so… that's been rough. And Sean's been working double shifts at the cannery."

"Well, he has to work." Mary Margaret reminded her.

"On Valentine's day? He couldn't get out of it." Ashley explained.

"Just consider yourself lucky you have a boyfriend. I haven't had a boyfriend since… Oh, wait… No, I've never had a boyfriend." Tessa told her. All three girls looked at her.

"Never?" They repeated in unison, as if it was some horrible crime. Tessa shrugged.

"Nope. But Ruby makes up for it. She's been with enough guys that you could split the number down the middle, give half to me, and she'd still have a record."

"HEY!" Ruby's voice carried across the diner and everyone could detect the mixture of anger and amusement in her tone. Ruby hurried over to them.

"Why don't we go out on a girl's night? We can all go! Ashley, Tessa, Mary Margaret. Emma, too, if you leave the badge at home." Ruby suggested.

"I'm not really in the party mood, but you guys go have fun." Emma told her. Her phone rang and she walked away to answer it. Ruby nudged Tessa with a huge grin on her face.

"Tonight gonna be _amazing_!"

* * *

At The Rabbit Hole, Ashley and Ruby were downing shots as fast as they could. Mary Margaret looked at them over her own drink and Tessa sipped her coke calmly, as if she saw Ruby do this every day. Mary Margaret didn't doubt that she had.

"Pace yourself, Ashley." Mary Margaret warned.

"I am! This is my first night out since I've had the baby. I'm making up for lost time!" She downed another shot.

"Have you ever heard of alcohol poisoning?" Tessa teased her. Ashley laughed but then took another shot. Ruby looked at some guys at the bar.

"Oooh! Ash, check out those guys."

"Oh, honey, I'm still with Sean."

"You're not married and he's not here."

"He's working."

"He's always working. Have fun moping!" Ruby took her drink and went over to the guys.

"She's right. He is always working. I thought love would be different." Ashley complained.

"Me, too."

"Me… Oh, wait, I wouldn't know." Tessa said, shrugging. Everyone laughed again. Then Ashley frowned and sighed.

"I need a 'be with my guy night' not a girls night." She complained. Both Mary Margaret and Tessa kept quiet.

"Look, this is a bad idea… I should go home." She started to stand up.

"Ashley." Sean walked over to her.

"Sean?" He held out a bunch of roses to her.

"Hey."

"I thought you were working tonight."

"I am. It's my break and… I had to see you. And ask you something." He got down on one knee and pulled a ring out of his pocket.

"Will you marry me?" Ashley just stood there, looking shocked.

"I only have a twenty minute break, so… uh, anytime now." Sean added.

"Yes!" He put the ring on her finger while everyone applauded for them.

"My truck's outside if you want to take a ride before I head back to work. It's not much of a date…"

"It's the best date!" They kissed each other before Sean motioned towards the door.

"Then your carriage awaits." They happily left. Mary Margaret looked upset as she gathered her purse and jacket.

"Are you leaving too?" Tessa asked.

"Yeah… I should get home. School tomorrow, you know." She said. Tessa nodded and looked at Ruby at the bar.

"And I have to get my best friend back to Granny before she passes out or Granny comes looking for her with a gun."

* * *

Tessa led Ruby into Granny's Bed and Breakfast. Granny looked up from the counter and raised an eyebrow.

"So… Girls night went well." Tessa said with a laugh. Ruby was half asleep her feet. Tessa shoved Ruby into her and Granny's apartment-like home off the main room and then pulled her into her bedroom.

"Okay. You have had too many shots tonight." Tessa told her as she shoved her down onto the bed.

"I'm leaving now." She announced, heading for the door. She walked out, said goodnight to Granny and then went onto the sidewalk. She ran her hand through her hair and then started for home.


	13. What Happened to Frederick

**A/N I'm missing the transcripts for the next couple of episodes so I had to get all fancy and do everything from scratch. As you can probably tell, I get kind of uncomfortable when I go away from the story line too but, but I tried my best on this next few episodes. I hope you like it and reviews with constructive (but not rude, please) criticism are welcome. **

* * *

_Contessa was running. She was out of breath, but she couldn't stop. Her hands were still bound in ropes in front of her and her back was still in searing pain. She didn't care. She just knew she had to escape. Suddenly someone tackled her to the ground. She struggled against Cora's soldier, but it was no use. He yanked her to her feet and hauled her back towards the palace. _

* * *

Tessa woke up like she had so many nights before; in a cold sweat and breathing like she'd just run a marathon. Regina tapped lightly on the door and then pushed it open to look inside.

"Tessa? Are you okay?" She asked quietly so she didn't wake up Henry in the next room. Tessa nodded vigorously. Regina gave her a strange look, but, much to Tessa's relief didn't say anything as she shut the door again. Tessa got out of bed and went to her window. It had frosted over with the cold of the night. She sat down on her desk in front of it, leaning against the window frame, watching the night outside.

* * *

When she woke up the next morning, she was still sitting on her desk. She moaned and flexed, working the stiffness out of her body. She glanced at the window to see the clock tower, but saw something else instead. In her sleep, she had traced a heart in the frost on the window. She frowned in confusion and wiped it away before going to get dressed.

* * *

She sat on her bed, flipping through one of her Harry Potter books, trying to pass the time. Henry and Regina had both gone out for something or another, so she had the house to herself. If you excuse the two dogs playing tug-of-war out in the hallway and the cat trying to lie down on her book as 'to herself'.

"Chess, get off." She complained, moving her cat for the third time in the last half an hour. She sighed and slammed the book shut. She couldn't focus. Her flashbacks were getting more and more confusing. It was getting hard to focus on anything anymore. She stood up from her bed and walked over to her bookshelf to put the book back. Her fingers brushed her old Alice In Wonderland book. A strange chill went down her spine. She yanked her hand back and hurried away.

* * *

She walked absentmindedly through the house and ended up in the kitchen. She sat down at the island and put her head in her hands. Another memory was coming on. She could feel it, the way you felt a migraine before it hit.

* * *

_Contessa was sat down in front of Cora at a table. Cora put a small box in front of her. Contessa was struggling to keep calm, to think clearly. But she knew one thing at that time: there was no getting out. Cora held up a small bottle. Written on a tag tied to the neck of the bottle were two simple words. DRINK ME. _

* * *

"Tessa! TESSA!" She woke up with a gasp, weakly struggling to shove Henry's hands away so he would stop shaking her. He looked down at her in confusion and worry.

"What happened?" He asked. She was sitting on the kitchen floor, next to the stool at the island that she had obviously fallen off of.

"I'm fine… I'm fine…" She gasped, not as reassuringly as she had hoped. She scrambled to her feet and leaned against the fridge for support. Henry climbed to his feet as well.

"Are you sure?" He asked worriedly. She nodded and then hurried out of the kitchen. She made her way upstairs and into her bedroom. She shut the door behind her and sat down on the floor, leaning against it. She closed her eyes.

"What is happening to me?" She asked herself quietly. She felt another memory tugging at her mind. She moved away from the door, choosing instead to sit by her bed as she let the memory barge its way into her mind.

* * *

_Contessa stared at the bottle. Somehow, she was pretty sure the last thing she should do was drink it. Cora held it out to her. _

_"Drink." She said simply. Contessa stared at her, hoping she looked fierce instead of how weak she felt. _

_"And if I don't?" She asked. It was a bad question. Cora almost crushed the bottle in her hand, stopping herself a second before she would have. She held it out to Contessa again. _

_"You're a guest. But I'm afraid you don't fit in your new room. Not yet, anyway…." By guest, Contessa knew she meant 'prisoner', but she didn't say anything. Cora opened the box and showed the inside was covered in felt. _

_"Drink." She repeated. Contessa glared at her. She knew there was no way out, but she wasn't going to give up so easily. _

_"Why are you doing this?" She asked through clenched teeth. She was scared. For the first time in a long time, she was truly scared of what was going to happen to her. She tried to hide it. Showing her fear would do her more harm than good at the moment. _

_"There are several reasons… Because you are too powerful to be free. Because I need leverage over Regina… We'd be here all night we discussed each and every one of them." She shoved the bottle into Contessa's bound hands. Contessa stared at her for a minute but then uncorked the bottle. She held it in her hands for another minute, staring down at the blue liquid inside. Then she drank. _

* * *

For the second time in too short of a time period, Tessa saw the bright lights on the hospital ceiling above her. She felt herself getting pushed on a stretcher. Voices floated around her, but none of it meant anything. She heard Regina's voice, frantic, unlike she'd ever heard her before.

"That's my daughter! You have to let me in! You have to let me in!" Tessa couldn't hear any response and she didn't have the concentration to try. She was slipping into the darkness again…


	14. Dreamy & Red Handed

**A/N I combined these two episodes because they were way too short on their own, but I hope you like it. I took some creative liberties and made these two combined episodes a little odd. I hope it's odd in a good way but you can tell me in reviews whether or not you like it or not. **

* * *

Tessa's eyes fluttered open. She was still in the hospital room. It was dark out in the hallway and out the window. She looked around. No one was in the room except her. She looked down at the IV in her arm. She bit back a groan. She was getting really tired of waking up in the hospital. She yanked the IV out of her arm, ignoring the pain, and slid off the bed. She was in a hospital gown. She searched the room until she saw her stack of clothes on the chair. Once she was in her jeans, white tank top and grey high-tops, she threw the hospital gown onto the bed. She snatched her sweatshirt off the chair as she slipped out of the room. She was still zipping it up when she rounded a corner. She had to get out. She couldn't stay here any longer. More memories were trying to break through, trying to get to the surface. _If I can just get to the edge of town, they'll come easier_, she thought to herself. She picked up the pace and soon she was running through the hospital hallways. She knew the lay-out better than she should and she was out in the parking lot in record time. It was dark out, but there was just enough moonlight for her to see the clock tower. Midnight. Why did bad things always happen at midnight? She zigzagged her way through the few cars parked in the lot and ran into the road. No cars were coming and she didn't hear anything. It was eerily quiet. It just added to her stress. She started sprinting down the middle of the street, heading for the edge of town. Suddenly a barrage of flashes came on her again, even though she knew she was no where near the edge of town. It dropped her to her knees. She fell all the way to the street as her vision blurred into another memory…

* * *

_{Enchanted Forest – past} _

_"You can't curse everyone! Mother, please listen to reason!" Contessa begged. Regina, however, didn't listen. _

_"Of course I can curse everyone. That's exact what I'm doing." Regina told her with a smile that didn't show happiness, rather the thought of revenge that was making her giddy. Contessa slowly backed away from her. _

_"You can't do this… I will not be a part of this!" She told her mother, shaking her head. _

_"Are you abandoning your mother? The one that has taken care of you all these years?" _

_"My mother died the second she started doing dark magic. You are just an evil witch pretending to be her. I will not stay here a second longer!" She turned and ran. Even as she ran, the Evil Queen's enraged yell reached her ears. _

_"YOU WILL BE AMONG THE CURSED!"_

* * *

Tessa opened her eyes again. Bright hospital lights greeted her. She moaned, rolling onto her side. Then she noticed something. She was handcuffed to her bed. She tried to yank her hand free, but the hand-cuffs were too tight. She forcefully threw herself back against her pillows. She heard voices outside her room and strained her ears in order to listen in.

"Miss Mills, has it occurred to you that this is your own doing?" Mr. Gold asked.

"Are you accusing me of putting my own daughter in the hospital?" Regina growled.

"You're the one that cursed everyone. All magic comes with a price."

"The price is my daughter? Is that it?"

"We both know that Contessa is extremely powerful. Her powers are resurfacing. The curse is trying to stop it. This is the result."

* * *

Later that day, Regina came into the room. Tessa immediately motioned impatiently towards the handcuffs.

"It's just a precaution. After you escaped last night, they wanted to make sure it didn't happen again. I blame the security… Sleeping on the job like that… I have more than half a mind to have him fired." Regina told her.

"Why am I even in the hospital?" She asked, annoyed.

"You keep passing out. The doctors aren't sure what's wrong." Regina explained. Tessa didn't say anything.

"We're going to have Dr. Hopper come and have sessions with you while you're in the hospital." Regina added.

"So now I'm crazy and a medical mystery? This is going to be one heck on a rap-sheet by the end of the year."

"It's just for a little while." Regina was called out of the room by Dr. Whale. Tessa lied back against her pillows, wondering what exactly she had ever done to deserve all of this…

* * *

_{Enchanted Forest – Past} _

_"Snow, she's going to curse everyone. I don't know what's going to happen, but it won't be good." Contessa told her step-sister. They had met in the woods, away from the castle. Snow White let out a shaky breath. _

_"Alright… Then we'll just have to prepare for the worst. Come along." Snow White started to pull Contessa towards the castle, but Contessa held her ground. She pulled her hand out of Snow White's, who gave her a confused look. _

_"My mother is beyond reasoning, but I think I can stop her." _

_"You?" _

_"Yes. I'm powerful. We all know that. If I can learn how to use my magic, perform dark magic-." _

_"Contessa, dark magic is what you blame for destroying your mother. Do not stoop as low as to try and learn it yourself to stop her. Stay out of trouble, keep yourself hidden, just for a while. I'll always be here for whatever you need." _

_"Why do I think the curse is going to disagree with that?" _

* * *

Tessa woke up, calmer now that she was used to seeing the hospital lights above her. She looked out the door, which was slightly ajar. She saw Dr. Whale, Archie and Regina talking, too low for her to hear. She looked back up at the ceiling. _If escape isn't an option, they'll just have to let me walk out of their own accord_, she thought. Then she smiled slightly, a plan forming in her head.

* * *

"So what do you see when you black out?" Archie asked. Tessa played it causal, as was her plan.

"Nothing. I didn't even know I was blacking out."

"Do you think there's a reason for these black outs? Perhaps memories that are trying to come to the surface?" Boy, he knew how to make it hard.

"I'm not sure." He nodded and made a note in his notebook. Tessa looked down at her handcuffed hand and back up at him. _Don't suppose we could move this along_? She thought hopefully.

"So what do you think of the hospital, Tessa? Are they treating you well here?" Apparently not…

* * *

After Archie had come and gone, Mary Margaret stopped in to see her. Tessa looked up from the notebook she was drawing in.

"Hey. I heard you where here again. What are you drawing?" She asked curiously, trying to sneak a peek at the notebook.

"Nothing." Tessa put it face-down on the bed and waved at her as best as she could with her handcuffed hand.

"So how are you doing?" Tessa asked her. Mary Margaret sighed and flopped down on the bed next to her.

"David drama."

"Ahh… I hear it's the worst kind."

"It is." Mary Margaret agreed, nodding. They were silent for a minute. Then Mary Margaret gasped.

"My class. I'm going to be late." She jumped off the bed, knocking the notebook off with her.

"Oh, sorry." She reached down to get it. When she saw the drawing inside, she looked up at Tessa in confusion.

"Why did you draw me… with long hair? And is that David with me?" She demanded. Tessa took the notebook back.

"Don't tell anyone, but I think I caught Henry's brand of crazy." She explained.

"Where you think I'm Snow White and he's Prince Charming?"

"That would be the crazy I'm speaking off." Mary Margaret just stared at her for a minute.

"I have to go."

"You do that, Snow."

"What?"

"I said Mary Margaret."

"No you didn't."

"Yes I did. Have a good day now." Mary Margaret looked at her for a minute longer and then left the room.

* * *

It was even later that day when Henry came into the room. He dumped his backpack on the floor and pulled a chair over to the side of the bed.

"Hey." She greeted him.

"Mary Margaret said you'd been drawing her as Snow White."

"Wow, somebody didn't hear the 'don't tell anyone' part of that conversation." Tessa said with a roll of her eyes.

"So you're getting your memories back? The curse isn't working on you anymore!" He cried excitedly. Just then, Dr. Whale came into the room.

"Sorry, Henry, but visiting hours are over." Henry frowned as he gathered up his backpack and left. Dr. Whale looked at Tessa.

"Are you still mad at me for having you handcuffed to the bed?" He asked.

"Not. At. All." She told him in the bitterest tone she could manage.

* * *

Another session with Archie brought the stupidest question that Tessa could imagine.

"Do you see this glass as half full or half empty?" Tessa stared at the glass of water for a minute. Then she reached out, grabbed the cup and drank the water.

"That wasn't what you were supposed to do." Archie told her.

"I think outside the box."

"So I've noticed. Have you had anymore black outs?" He asked. She smiled sweetly at him.

"No." This wasn't a total lie. She was fighting off any memories that threatened to come to the surface, only letting them out at night when everyone would think she'd just fallen asleep. Sometimes, she was pretty sure she _did_ fall asleep before she blacked out.

"Good. I think we're making progress." _Don't suppose we could make progress a little faster?_

* * *

The next day, Dr. Whale was releasing her from the handcuff.

"Am I free to go?" She asked.

"Yes. If you have even the slight black-out, you need to come back."

"Of course, Doc." _Not happening_, she thought at the same time as she spoke. He walked out of the room to allow her to get the dressed. The second she was out of that horrid hospital gown and into her regular clothes, she hit the hallway running.


	15. Heart of Darkness

**A/N This is the episode where I could follow transcripts again so it's going to follow the story line again (somewhat). **

* * *

As Tessa walked into Granny's Diner, she was met with a hug from Ruby.

"I'm so glad you're back!"

"It's good to be back. Look, Rue, I'm going to be out of town for a while." Tessa told her. Ruby just stared blankly at her.

"What? Why?"

"Because I need to figure stuff out. I'll come back soon… just I won't be here for a while." She explained.

"That sucks." Ruby told her simply. Tessa laughed.

"I'll be back sooner or later. See ya around." She hugged Ruby quickly before turning and leaving the Diner again.

* * *

She walked into the Sheriff's station and stopped dead when she saw Emma taking mug shots of Mary Margaret.

"Why?" She asked, putting the box of doughnuts she'd brought on the desk behind Emma.

"This is a mistake!" Mary Margaret told her.

"I didn't kill Kathryn." She added to Emma.

"Wow… And here I thought you'd stolen an apple." Tessa mumbled, joking with herself. Both women ignored her.

"This is crazy. I would never hurt anyone!"

"I have to keep my job before I can help you, Mary Margaret." Emma reminded her. Tessa slapped something into Emma's hand and she stopped talking to look down at it.

"This is the key to the filing cabinet."

"Yeah. I can't intern here anymore because I'm leaving town. I brought you a bear claw!" She announced, holding up the doughnut box. Emma took it and put it down on the desk again.

"You're leaving town?" She and Mary Margaret asked at the same time.

"Yeah."

"You don't have a car." Mary Margaret pointed out.

"Or money."

"To answer Mary Margaret: it's more of a walk-and-hitch-hike kinda plan. And to answer Emma: for your information, I have saved up quite a lot." She informed them.

"Why?" They asked in unison.

"I need to sort things out. Out of town. Bear claw." Tessa tried to bring their attention back to the doughnut box.

"Well… Okay… What about Henry?" Emma asked her. She glanced at the doughnut box and then finally took the bear claw from it. Tessa smirked before answering her question.

"It's not like I'm bringing the kid with me. He'll be fine here. He'll probably jump at the chance to have my room and all my cool stuff."

"You're not bringing anything?" They asked her. She rolled her eyes.

"I'm bringing the essentials! Clean underwear, laptop, Doritos…."

"Well, when you need a ride back home because you're out of Doritos, call me." Emma told her. She turned to Mary Margaret and motioned towards the cell.

"Sorry, but…" Mary Margaret nodded and went into the cell. Emma shut and locked the door behind her and then went to put the keys Tessa had given her back. Tessa looked through the doughnuts and then picked up a doughnut with pink frosting. She slipped it through the bars to Mary Margaret.

"Thanks." She mumbled, nibbling at the edges.

"Anytime. See you around… Or not. Since you're locked up for murder and I'm leaving town." Tessa added as an afterthought.

"Thanks." Mary Margaret told her sarcastically. Tessa headed for the door.

"Bye, Emma!" There was a muffled 'call me' from the office. Tessa rolled her eyes and left.

* * *

Romania and Sebastian met her inside the house. She kneeled down to pet them.

"You guys are making leaving harder than it should be." She muttered. She straightened up and went up to her bedroom. She pulled a duffel bag out of her closet and packed it with clothes. Then she went back into the room itself and grabbed her laptop from her desk. Once that and a bag of Doritos were packing on top of the clothes on the bag, she zipped it up and shouldered it. She turned back to Sebastian, Romania and Chess, who were all watching her from the other side of the room.

"I'll be back guys." She assured them. She went past them and into the kitchen. She scribbled out a little note by the phone for Regina and Henry.

_Going away. Probably won't be back for a while. Don't panic. Or panic, if that's what makes you feel better. –Tessa_

* * *

Tessa made it to the edge of town by sundown. She dropped her bag on the side of the road and then took a deliberate step out of the town limit. This time, no certain memory stuck with her. Images, faces and voices hit her over and over. She tried to pick one out, but it didn't work this time. After what seemed like forever of just getting fuzzy pieces of memories, one finally did stick.

* * *

_She was really tired of being in a box, no matter how comfortable the felt was. As she was lying on the floor of the box, contemplating any miserable escape plan she could come up with, she felt the box being picked up and carried. She was slammed against the wall. She held onto the folds of felt to keep herself secure in the corner. When the box finally wasn't moving anymore, the lid opened. Sunlight blinded her, but she could make out a tiny piece of magic mushroom being offered to her. _

* * *

When she slowly returned to consciousness, she felt herself moving, being carried by someone. She looked up at the now-familiar man carrying her. She could only whisper one word before drifting into unconscious again:

"Jefferson."


	16. Hat Trick

**A/N This is the chapter I've been waiting to update! This is the episode I wanted to write since I thought up the idea for the fan-fiction because this is my favorite episode of the first season and I just love Jefferson's character! So please review and tell me what you think because I'm excited to find out what you think. **

* * *

Tessa woke up in a dark room. She pushed herself to her feet and was just going to open the door when it opened from the outside. She jumped back to avoid being hit with the door. Jefferson stepped in. She just stared at him for a minute.

"Hi." Was all she could think to say, knowing full well how lame it was.

"I see you're awake."

"I am."

"I don't know what your plan was, going outside of town-."

"Running away." She interrupted him.

"With a laptop and a bag of Doritos?"

"Nothing is better than Doritos. And you went through my bag?" She asked. He shrugged.

"Jefferson, do you remember your… past life?" She asked. He rolled his eyes.

"Yes. I remember. I remember everything. Contessa, just know that when I look at you all I see is the girl who ruined me." He turned and walked out of the room again, shutting it behind him. She hurried over to it as she heard the click of the lock.

"Jefferson! JEFFERSON!" She slammed her palms against the door, but she still heard his retreating footsteps. She turned to put her back against the door and slowly slid to the floor.

* * *

{Enchanted Forest – Past}

_Inside the box, Contessa accepted the piece of mushroom and took a bite out of it. In seconds, she was fully grown again. Luckily her clothes had grown again to accommodate her. Her hands were still bound, but she was free from the box. Regina hugged her tightly. _

_"Oh, Contessa!" _

_"This is what she took from you? Your daughter?" Contessa turned away from Regina to look at Jefferson. _

_"Jefferson?" She asked. She hadn't seen him since she was a child, but it was definitely him. _

_"The Queen of Hearts has always seen me as a threat. So she wanted some leverage. I got it back." Regina told him. _

_"You knew only two can go through the hat… which is why you didn't tell me it was her that you wanted back…" Jefferson said quietly. _

_"Mother, what are you doing? If only two can go back-!" Contessa started. _

_"Then it'll be us." As Jefferson took a step forward, one of his feet sunk into the ground so he couldn't move. _

_"Wait, wait, please! My daughter… My Grace… She's waiting for me. I'd promised her I'd be home for tea." _

_"A promise which you have know broken. If you truly cared for your daughter, you never would have left her in the first place. You were right, Jefferson. You don't abandon family." Contessa tried to move, only to find that Regina had a firm grip on the rope about her wrists. _

_"Mother, don't-." She was cut off as Regina shoved her through the portal, following her close behind. _

* * *

Tessa woke up on the floor by the door. She pushed herself to her feet and looked through the keyhole in the door. The key was still in place. She looked around the room before grabbing a map off the wall. She looked through the desk in the room before she finally found a slim pencil. She went back to the door. She slid the map halfway under the door and then poked the pencil into the keyhole. The key fell out onto the map. She slid the map back under the door, grabbed the key and unlocked the door from the inside. She hurried out into the hallway, running smack into someone and knocking herself down to the floor. Emma and Tessa stared at each other for a minute.

"How did you…?" Emma started to ask.

"Long story."

"Okay." Emma pulled Tessa to her feet again and into another room to hide.

"Help me!" They turned towards the muffled voice to see Mary Margaret, tied up in a chair.

"What is going on?" Emma demanded, rushing over and starting to untie her.

"Emma, Tessa, thank God!"

"What are you doing here?" Tessa asked.

"I was running away… There was a key, in my cell, under my pillow." Mary Margaret explained. Emma got her untied and Tessa helped her to her feet. The three of them went out into the hallway, but stopped dead when they heard a gun cocking behind them. They slowly turned towards Jefferson.

"I see you found Spot!" He told Emma with a smile, motioning to Mary Margaret.

"I've already called for back-up. They will be here any minute!" Emma warned.

"You haven't called anybody… for the same reason you didn't tell me about her. You don't want anyone to know you're here, so no one does. So now tie her back up." Jefferson ordered. Emma reluctantly went to tie Mary Margaret back up while Jefferson kept a hold on Tessa's arm so she couldn't run.

"Jefferson, just let them go. I thought this was between you and me." She hissed. He tightened his grip on her arm until it hurt.

"You think too much of yourself. This isn't _all_ about you." He snapped. Once Mary Margaret was tied up again, Jefferson led Emma and Tessa into another room. He pulled a chair up against the wall and pushed Tessa onto it.

"Sit, stay, good girl." He told her in a mocking way. He turned to Emma.

"I don't know what you think you're doing, but if you hurt my friends, I swear I'll make you regret it!" Emma threatened.

"Hurt them? Oh no. I'm saving her life-." He motioned towards the door to indicate Mary Margaret. "-and… okay, well, I might hurt her. Or I'll just keep her here for a few decades to show her how it feels." He added the last part about Tessa with a crooked smile.

"How do you figure you're saving her life?" Emma demanded.

"Don't play stupid. We both know what happens when people try to leave Storybrooke." Jefferson told her.

"What are you talking about?"

"He's talking about the curse." Tessa told her, annoyed at the slow rate this conversation was going at.

"The curse? You… You've been reading Henry's book?" Emma asked, directing the question at Jefferson.

"Henry? You mean the Queen's father?"

"Henry, the Mayor's adopted kid."

"Oh. Henry. Your Henry… and his book of stories, the ones you choose to ignore. Maybe if you knew what I knew, you wouldn't."

"Why have you been spying on me?" Emma asked.

"Oh, don't feel like it's all about you. He's probably been spying on me too." Tessa spoke up.

"I have." Jefferson admitted.

"See? I called it."

"And I've been spying on you because for the last twenty eight years, I have been stuck in this house, day after day, always the same. Until one night, you, in your little yellow Bug, roll into town, and the clock ticks and things start to change. Suddenly _she_-." He pointed at Tessa with his gun. "-can leave town and the curse is barely fighting back anymore. You see, I know what you refuse to acknowledge, Emma. You're special. You brought something precious to Storybrooke. Magic."

"You're insane."

"Because I speak the truth?"

"Because you're talking about magic."

"I'm talking about what I've seen. Perhaps you're the one who's mad."

"Really?" Emma challenged, her tone of voice showing just how stupid she though that was.

"What's crazier than seeing and not believing? Because that's exactly what you've been doing since you got to our little hamlet." He moved closer to Emma until he was inches away from her face.

"Open your eyes. Look around. Wake up. Isn't it about time?" He whispered.

"What do you want?" Emma asked.

"I want you to get it to work." He shoved her roughly down in a chair at the table.

"You want me to get what to work?" She asked confused. Then she focused on the hat on the table.

"You're the only one that can do this. You're gonna get it work." He dropped some cloth in front of her, almost as an afterthought.

"Make one like that."

"You want me to make a hat. You don't have enough?" She asked, looking around the room.

"Well, none of them work, do they? Or else you wouldn't be here." He pulled up a chair, sitting at the edge of the table so he was between Emma and Tessa.

"Now make a hat and get it work." He ordered.

"I don't-." Emma started.

"You have magic. You can do it." Emma looked around again.

"The hats… the tea… your psychotic behavior… You think you're the Mad Hatter."

"Careful, he won't like being called that!" Tessa warned. Jefferson looked over at her and then back at Emma.

"The name's Jefferson. And you-." He got up and walked over to Tessa. "-you should know. You made me 'the mad hatter'." He growled.

"She's a twenty year old girl that's lived here her whole life, okay? She barely has any friends, let alone enemies!" Emma protested.

"I have him. Depending on what point in my life we're talking about, he fits in both." Tessa told her, not taking her eyes off Jefferson.

"You believe him? You _know_ him?" Emma demanded.

"Of course she does. _She_ remembers." Jefferson answered for her. Tessa jumped to her feet.

"It's not my fault what happened to you, Jefferson! I tried! I tried to get back to you! I couldn't!" She yelled.

"Whoa, whoa, I'm lost here." Emma started.

"Just make the hat." Jefferson ordered without looking at her.

"I'm sorry! Okay? Is that what you want to hear? I'm sorry! It wasn't my choice to leave you there! You know that!" Tessa told him.

"Sit down." He shoved her roughly back down into the chair and turned to Emma.

"You think you're the Mad Hatter and she did something to you? Look, the Mad Hatter is a character in a book. It's just a story. A book I read, as a matter of fact."

"Stories… Stories? What's a story? When you were in high school, did you learn about the civil war?"

"Yeah, of course." Emma replied, obviously wondering where this was going.

"How? Did you read about it, perchance, in a book? How is that any less than any other book?"

"History books are based on history."

"And storybooks are based on what? Imagination? Where does that come from? It has to come from somewhere. You know what the issue is with this world? Everyone wants some magical solution to their problems and everyone refuses to believe in magic." He gestured with his gun and added a quick 'now get it to work' before sitting back down.

"Here's the thing, Jefferson. This is it. This is the real world!"

"_A_ real world. How arrogant are you to think yours is the only one? There are infinite more. You have to open your mind. They touch one another, pressing up in a long line of lands, each just as real as the last. All have their own rules. Some have magic, some don't. And some _need_ magic…. Like this one. And that's where you come in. You and your friends are not leaving here until you make my hat… until you get it to work."

"And then what?" Emma asked, fingering the cloth in front of her. Jefferson leaned back against his chair.

"Then I go home." He answered.

"Jefferson-." Tessa started.

"You don't talk." He threatened, standing up and pointing the gun at her.

"You won't shoot me." Tessa said calmly. Emma was working on the hat, but she kept one eye on Tessa, shooting her a warning look. Tessa ignored her, standing up and walked forward until the gun was against her chest.

"If you were going to shoot me, to get your revenge, you wouldn't have even brought me here. You would have left me in the middle of the road, killed me there." Tessa continued.

"Maybe I just want you to suffer." He suggested nonchalantly. She chuckled dryly and shook her head.

"Which is another reason you won't shoot me, not fatally at least. Jefferson, I know you. This isn't you." In a split second, Jefferson had pushed her against the wall, a tight grip on her throat. Then he paused and let her go. She decided not to push her luck and say the 'I told you so' that was running through her head.

"Jefferson-."

"No." He interrupted her.

"You didn't even hear me out."

"I don't _want_ to hear you out; I don't want to hear anything out of your mouth."

"If you really didn't want to hear me talk, you'd have locked me up somewhere." She pointed out. He didn't answer. She pressed on.

"Even if you don't want to admit to yourself, Jefferson, you don't hate me! You hate my mother, but you don't hate me!"

"Oh, don't worry, Contessa, I have enough hate for both of you." He assured her. Emma paused at her work.

"What did you just call her?" She asked.

"Keep working." Jefferson ordered. Emma hesitated, giving Tessa a creeped out look, but then kept working.

"Why don't you lock me up? Show me that you hate me?" Tessa challenged.

"I could do worse to you."

"I'm sure that you could try. But you realize that I remember everything, right? I remember the Queen of Hearts, I remember her soldiers. I remember what they did to me. You think this-." She yanked the sleeve of her t-shirt aside and turned to show him part of the scar on her back. "-wasn't painful when I got it?" She turned back to him, putting her sleeve back on her shoulder. Emma interrupted them by slamming the finished hat and the scissors down on the table.

"I can't make it work! What you're asking me to do is impossible." Jefferson ran over to the table and grabbed the hat to look at it.

"No! It has to be! If it's not, I'm never going home. I'll be cursed to live in this house forever…"

"What is so cursed about your life? Look at this place, its beautiful! It doesn't seem cursed to me." Emma protested.

"It's cursed because, like everyone else here, what I love has been ripped from me. Take a look." He motioned towards the telescope. She walked over and looked through it.

"Her name is Grace. Here it's Paige. But it's Grace. My Grace." Tessa hurried over to the telescope.

"Grace is here?" Tessa asked. Emma moved away so that Tessa could look through. Grace was sitting with her new family, having dinner.

"Do you have any idea what it's like to watch her day in and day out, happy, with a new family? With a new father?" Jefferson went on.

"You think she's your daughter?" Emma asked. Tessa was suddenly sick to her stomach and didn't say anything.

"I don't think. I know. I remember. She has no idea who I am. Our life together, where we come from. I do. That's my curse."

"To remember." Emma put it together.

"What good is this house, these things, if I can't share them with her?"

"If you really think she's your daughter, why don't you reach out to her? Why don't you tell her?"

"And destroy her reality? I'm trapped by knowledge. How cruel do you think I am? You think I'd inflict that awareness on my daughter? It's hard enough to live in a land where you don't belong, but knowing it, holding conflicting realties in your head… it will drive you mad."

"That's why you want me to make the hat work, isn't it? You wanna take Grace home, to your world."

"It's the one world where we can be together… where she'll remember who I am."

"I know what it's like to separated from your kid." Emma went back over to the telescope. Tessa moved out of her way numbly.

"Yeah, you do, don't you?" Jefferson asked.

"Jefferson, there's something you need to know." Tessa finally spoke up. He looked at her questioningly.

"You won't believe me but-." While Jefferson was distracted, Emma struck him with the telescope. Tessa let out a yelp of surprise.

"Why would you do that?!" She cried.

"He's a lunatic!" Emma yelled back. She grabbed the gun and then pulled Tessa out of the room. They ran back to the room where Mary Margaret was. Emma started setting her free. Tessa turned towards the door worriedly just as Jefferson burst in, knocking her to the ground.

"Emma, look out!" Mary Margaret yelled. Jefferson knocked her to the ground and they struggled for the gun. With no other choice, Tessa ran and grabbed Jefferson. She threw him off Emma, ripping aside his collar in the process. Jefferson kicked her legs out of from under and she landed hard on the floor. He stood up, grabbing the gun. He put the hat on his head, leaving the scar on his neck exposed. Tessa could only stare.

"Off with his head." He declared, grinning wickedly. Mary Margaret suddenly hit him with a croquet mallet. When he was stunned, she kicked him and sent him tumbling out the window. Tessa scrambled to her feet and leaned out the window. Mary Margaret and Emma looked over her shoulders. All they saw on the ground below were shards of glass and the hat that Emma had made…

* * *

Outside, the sun had risen and Tessa was standing at the end of the driveway, arms folded tightly across her chest. Mary Margaret and Emma were talking behind her, but she paid no attention to those two. She jumped when Emma nudged her shoulder.

"Are you okay? You seemed to know him." Emma mused. _Yeah, no crap, Sherlock_, Tessa thought bitterly.

"I did." She agreed instead of saying what she was thinking. Mary Margaret walked over to them and stood on the other side of Tessa.

"You were going to tell him something. Before I, you know-." Emma started to ask.

"Beat him about the head with a telescope? Yeah, I know. It doesn't matter." Tessa interrupted her.

"Do you want a ride back?" Emma offered. They'd found her car in the driveway and she had the keys. Tessa glanced over her shoulder at the little yellow Bug but then shook her head.

"I'll get back myself. Thanks." Emma and Mary Margaret hesitated, staring at her, but then went to get in the car. Tessa sidestepped out of the driveway as Emma backed up the car. She stood there, watching the car disappear around a bend. When it was gone, she let out a steadying breath and looked back at the hat. She walked over and stared at it, but didn't touch it.

"You'll find your way back here, Jefferson. I know you." She whispered. Then she turned and walked back towards the town.

* * *

Tessa came into the house, looking like she could lie down on the floor and go to sleep right there. Regina came around the corner.

"Where were you-?" She started. Red hot anger burned in Tessa. She grabbed Regina and pushed her up against the wall, hard. Regina looked shocked.

"What has gotten into you?" She demanded. Tessa yanked her hands off Regina's arms and backed away, pointing an accusing finger at her.

"Don't even ask me that! Jefferson…. You just left him there! YOU'RE THE REASON HE WAS TRAPPED THERE!" Tessa's voice rose until she was screaming. Regina's gaze hardened.

"I was getting you back!" She shot back, not bothering to ask any questions. Both of them knew no questions should be asked here.

"I would have rather died there than leave an innocent man, a man with a daughter and no wife, there to rot!"

"The Queen of Hearts had leverage of me! I had to get it back!"

"It's all about you and Cora all the time, isn't it? Or it's about you and Snow. Hating Cora I can understand, mom. I hated her too! She killed my father, I know-."

"You don't know anything about that!" Now Regina was angry, very angry. She walked forward until she'd backed Tessa up against the opposite wall.

"Snow White is the reason your father was killed!" Tessa didn't know how to respond to that for a minute.

"No… That's not true." She finally choked out. Regina's gaze softened silently, realizing the truth that she was about to unleash on her daughter.

"She promised she wouldn't tell my mother about Daniel and me. Then she did. She told Cora. And Daniel paid with his life. You know it's true. You suspected it for years. You wouldn't let yourself admit it." Tessa couldn't do anything but stare at Regina.

"That's the truth. That's why I hate Snow White. Now you know." Regina finished, backing away. Then she turned and strode from the room, trying to control her emotions. Tessa slowly slid down the wall until she was sitting on the floor with her knees drawn up to her chest. Tears rolled down her face. All she could do was sit there, overcome with angry and sadness. Suddenly the mirror over the table next to her shattered, sending shards of glass everyone. She let out a scream of surprise but found that all the shards of glass landed in a neat circle around her, not touching her. Magic surged through her like hot lava. She gasped in surprise. Then she scrambled up to her feet and ran from the house. She ran around the town, not caring where she ended up. As it turns out, she ended up by a bench at the elementary school. She stopped for a breath, sitting down on the bench to cry some more. Head in her hands, she didn't realize someone had come up to her until they spoke.

"Miss, are you okay?" Her head snapped up and she looked at Grace, standing by her with a worried look on her face. Tessa swallowed hard.

"I'm fine." She replied, wiping at her face. Grace, however, didn't believe her. She sat down on the bench next to Tessa.

"Well, I'm sorry for whatever happened." Tessa forced a smile onto her face.

"Thanks. I'm Tessa." She introduced herself.

"I'm Paige." _Right, not called Grace here_, Tessa reminded herself as they shook hands.

"That's a cute shirt." Tessa motioned towards Grace's pink t-shirt with a white rabbit on it.

"Oh, thanks." They both heard the school bell ringing. Tessa motioned for to get up and go.

"You can't be late for class, kiddo." She told her. Grace smiled and hurried off, yelling a 'bye' over her shoulder. Tessa watched her until she was inside the school. Then she leaned back against the bench, closing her eyes.

* * *

{Enchanted Forest – Past}

_Contessa stood in the market place, looking around. Her eyes rested on a young girl pining a piece of paper up on a wall. Contessa walked over. The piece of paper showed a drawing of Jefferson, with the words 'Have You Seen My Papa?' written under it. Contessa swallowed hard. _

_"I'll keep a look out for him." Contessa finally spoke. Grace looked up at her and smiled hopefully. _

_"Thank you. I'm Grace." _

_"Contessa. It's nice to meet you." A couple nearby at a stall called for Grace to come back. Contessa followed her over. _

_"Let's go get some jam." The woman led Grace off. Contessa turned to the man. _

_"Are you taking care of Grace?" She asked. The man gave her a confused look but nodded. _

_"Yes, we are. Her father had her come over to us a few weeks ago, but he hasn't returned. He did have a dangerous job before…" The man mused. He stopped when suddenly Contessa put a large pouch full of coins into his hand. _

_"Consider me a former family friend. I'll check in, make sure you are all well and want for nothing." She whispered. The man just stared at her. _

_"I do not know what to say." _

_"Then don't say anything. Your wife and Grace are coming back. Good day." Contessa turned and disappeared into the crowd again. _

* * *

Tessa let out a sigh as she returned to the present. She thought back to what she was going to say to Jefferson, about how she had made good on her mother's promise to make sure his daughter wanted for nothing. But then again, he probably wouldn't have believed her anyway…

* * *

**A/N Okay, it's time to reveal a big thing: eventually (I'm not saying it's going to happen soon because even I don't know the exact episode) Tessa and Jefferson will be together. There is an age difference, I know, (Jefferson is 28, Tessa is 20) but this is one of the things I knew was going to happen before I even started writing this fan-fiction down. **

**Here are the hints that I put in the story to point towards Jefferson being the one who Tessa's going to be with: **

**Her pets give away three hints: **

**1\. Sebastian is Tessa's border collie puppy and his name is the hint: Sebastian Stan is the actor that plays Jefferson. **

**2\. Chess is Tessa's cat and his name is also the hint: it's a short form of 'Cheshire' who is the cat associated with Alice in Wonderland while Jefferson (a.k.a the Mad Hatter) is also from Wonderland. **

**3\. Romania is Tessa's Carpathian Sheppard Dog and his name, again, the hint: Sebastian Stan, the actor for Jefferson, is originally from Romania **

**{I know that those weren't obvious (at all!) but I'm a nerd and I had fun picking those out as hints.} **

**4\. Her line in Snow Falls is another hint that I thought was more obvious than her pets names; '****No one in town is good enough. I like my men fashionable and slightly insane.': Jefferson doesn't live _in_ town and he is quite fashionable and insane. **

**I hope you guys liked this episode and I'll try to update soon. **


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